Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency: Wales

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account she took of the density of animal stock in Wales in taking the decision to close the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency regional laboratories in Wales.

James Paice: No AHVLA Laboratory sites will be closed in Wales as a result of the rationalisation of laboratory services.
	The decision to cease the delivery of laboratory services at the Welsh delivery sites was taken on the basis that less than 2% of tests for England and Wales were carried out in these laboratories and it was important to ensure that the national laboratory network was as well set up as possible to deliver high quality services in a value for money way all over England and Wales. Criteria that were taken into account included:
	the need to retain the necessary capabilities within the workforce across the network, in particular specialist scientific and technical skills;
	the need to retain sufficient staff capacity nationally to deliver the volumes of work required;
	consideration of the facilities required to maintain services required, e.g. specialist laboratory infrastructure;
	the need to reduce the number of sites at which the department operates in order to increase efficiency and reduce management and other overheads (equipment replacement and maintenance, quality and health and safety audits etc);
	the need to retain resilience of service delivery, e.g. Containment Level 3 (CL3) laboratory capacity.
	Because laboratory testing can be carried out at any site, and does not require to be carried out at the same site as post mortem activity, density of animal stock is not a significant consideration in deciding on the sites of laboratories.

Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency: Wales

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason her Department did not inform the Wales Office of its decision to close the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency regional laboratories in Wales.

James Paice: Animal Health and Welfare is a devolved matter in Wales and as such the Wales Office was not informed of the decision to de-couple laboratory services from surveillance and post-mortem testing at both sites in Wales.
	The Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) for Wales was briefed on the decision and formally written to as is protocol in these cases. I would have informed Welsh Assembly Ministers if required. In this instance the CVO Wales did not inform Welsh Ministers as the decision was regarded as an operational matter for AHVLA.

Animal Welfare: Slaughterhouses

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with animal welfare organisations on breaches of the law in slaughterhouses; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: I met with representatives of the slaughter industry, the British Veterinary Association, the Humane Slaughter Association, the Veterinary Public Health Association and the Food Standards Agency to discuss welfare in slaughterhouses earlier this year. We have arranged a follow up meeting with industry representation to address ongoing concerns about poor welfare standards in some slaughterhouses and how we can work together to address this issue.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of bovine tuberculosis have been recorded in each month since the introduction of the SAM computer system.

James Paice: The implementation of Sam release 6, which captures TB data, was at the end of September 2011. The latest TB statistics available are to the end of August 2011 and are published on DEFRA's website:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/landuselivestock/cattletb/
	As soon as it is available, information for September and October 2011 will also be published on DEFRA's website.

Cattle: Animal Welfare

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many trained inspectors able to investigate allegations of acts of cruelty to cattle, and cattle being kept in conditions which neglect their welfare, there were in each region of England and Wales in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12 to date; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: Currently, there are 240 veterinary officers and veterinary inspectors who are appointed under the relevant legislation.
	This figure relates only to veterinary staff who would investigate any allegations of acts of cruelty to cattle and cattle being kept in conditions which neglect their welfare.
	There are no figures for previous years or months as the Identity Card database is only there to inform who currently holds an ID card. When staff leave, they are deleted from the database.
	However, it should be noted that the number of staff currently appointed under the relevant legislation is far greater than 240 and includes animal health officers, dairy hygiene inspectors, RSPCA and local authority staff etc. While these officers may be aware of cases of cruelty and neglect, they themselves would not investigate such cases themselves, but would pass them on to the veterinary officers and veterinary inspectors to action.

Departmental Food

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps (a) her Department and (b) public bodies for which she is responsible are taking to ensure that they meet the Government's buying standards for food and catering.

James Paice: The Government Buying Standards for Food for the first time provide minimum standards for food and catering services across central Government. They were not yet published at the time of the competition for DEFRA's catering contract. However, it was made clear in the tendering specification that when established and as amended from time to time, the successful caterer will be required to comply with the Government Buying Standards. The current contract and therefore this condition applies to the whole of the DEFRA estate and we are determined to ensure that they are met in full.
	In addition officials are taking action to encourage these standards to be adopted as a minimum across the public sector and this will include all agencies and arm’s length bodies with which DEFRA is engaged. Performance reporting will include all aspects of both mandatory and best practice elements of the standards.

Detergents: Environment Protection

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department holds information on damage caused to the environment by chemicals used in domestic detergents.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has undertaken several projects aimed at understanding the impact on the environment of chemicals contained in domestic detergents. Research indicated that the principle chemical which has the potential for detrimental impact on the environment is phosphorus, which in high levels can lead to eutrophication, reducing oxygen levels in the aquatic system.
	In 2007, DEFRA commissioned an impact assessment to understand the contribution of phosphorus to water bodies failing to meet good ecological status, as defined within the water framework directive. The study showed that domestic detergents accounted for 5% of the phosphorus levels found in water courses.
	Based on this evidence a ban was proposed on levels of phosphorus in domestic detergents greater than 0.4%, under the UK Detergents Regulations 2010, SI 740.
	This ban is due to come into force in 2015. However, the European Parliament is currently proposing a ban on phosphorus levels which, if passed, will bring the UK's timetable forward to 2013. Also, under this proposal, the European Parliament is pursuing an extension to the ban that prohibits the inclusion of phosphorus in automatic dishwasher detergent. It aims for this to come into force in 2017.

Eggs: EU Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the EU Egg Marketing regulations to be amended.

James Paice: We will continue to press in Europe to have the relevant EU legislation amended to enable a good enforcement strategy that helps prevent the marketing of eggs when they come from hens reared in conventional cages.
	In the meantime we have taken steps to establish as much compliance as is possible with the conventional cage ban. A number of retailers, egg processors, food manufacturers and the food service industry are working to ensure that they have stringent traceability tests in place so that they can guarantee they are not sourcing conventional eggs from caged hens from either the UK or other member states. The industry has risen to the challenge and come out in support of producers who have stopped using conventional cages, reducing the risk of conventional cage eggs and egg products being marketed in the UK. My written statement to the House of 6 December 2011,
	Official Report
	, columns 15-19WS, includes a list of companies able to make this pledge and we will keep this list up to date.

Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had on the future of the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group.

James Paice: Pursuing the twin objectives of a competitive farming sector that plays a full part in protecting and improving the environment is a priority for this Government and the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) epitomised that dual purpose.
	The Farming Regulation Task Force identified the importance of ensuring that the environmental messages we give to farmers and their advisors are clear and well-prioritised. In the Natural Environment White Paper we have committed to undertake a review of advice and incentives for farmers. In taking this work forward we are very conscious of the role of independent environmental and conservation advice providers, such as the FWAG.
	Officials from DEFRA and Natural England have been in close contact with FWAG over recent weeks to establish the facts of the unfolding situation and to understand the implications.
	FWAG played an important role in the delivery of advice for a number of Government initiatives, including helping farmers to participate in agri-environment schemes and the campaign for the Farmed Environment. The need for this work will continue and independent advice delivered by organisations like the FWAG will continue to play a key role in supporting and developing British farming. While it is very saddening to see the closure of the FWAG it is heartening to see that, in a number of regions, there are already efforts afoot to create successor organisations to deliver advice.

Veterinary Laboratories Agency

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria have been used to determine the decisions on the restructuring of the Veterinary Laboratory Agency; and what consultations took place prior to the decisions being taken.

Richard Benyon: Veterinary Laboratories Agency and Animal Health merged in the face of significant reductions in budgets over the spending review period to create a more resilient agency with shared expertise in animal disease management.
	The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) has to make savings of more than £8.5 million for the next four years to meet spending review allocations (cumulative £34 million). These savings are in line with savings to be made across DEFRA.
	All aspects of delivery are being reviewed to ensure that services are delivered in the most cost-effective way possible. Current changes to laboratory service delivery are designed to enable cost savings of more than £2.4 million per annum.
	The proposed changes are based on the outcomes of the 2010 DEFRA-led GB-wide review of surveillance (including laboratory testing and post mortem and other aspects) which identified that savings needed to be made in this area by thinking about changing models of delivery. This review involved contributions from professionals in the field around Great Britain.
	A review of possible changes to the current model which could deliver a service at least as effective as the current one at significantly less cost was carried out earlier in 2011. The review recommended that laboratory testing could be carried out in locations other than those used to carry out post mortems. A representative of front line veterinary staff was involved in this work, as well as relevant experts in epidemiology and state veterinary medicine.
	The effect of this decision—to decouple laboratory testing from post mortem work more widely—was to enable a review of laboratory testing to identify opportunities to materially reduce the costs and increase the efficiency of the function as quickly as possible, while protecting its efficacy as a scanning surveillance tool.
	In 2006-07, the Laboratory Services Department (LSD) as a whole delivered 2.8 million tests of all types. By 2010-11, this number had fallen to less than a million, a reduction of 65% in test throughput as a result of changing requirements. During the same period, the number of staff in the LSD fell by 5% and pay costs increased by 6%.
	The decision on where to retain laboratory services was based on a number of factors including:
	the need to retain the necessary capabilities within the work force across the network, in particular specialist scientific and technical skills;
	the need to retain sufficient staff capacity nationally to deliver the volumes of work required;
	consideration of the facilities required to maintain services required, e.g. specialist laboratory infrastructure;
	the need to reduce the number of sites at which the department operates, in order to increase efficiency and reduce management and other overheads (equipment replacement and maintenance, quality and health and safety audits etc);
	the need to retain resilience of service delivery, e.g. Containment Level 3 (CL3) laboratory capacity.
	The fundamental criterion for the decision related to value for money. No wider consultation took place as this was an internal AHVLA review of operational delivery services, which does not significantly change the nature of industry service delivery.

Veterinary Laboratories Agency

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in regional veterinary laboratories (a) have been offered and (b) have accepted relocation as a result of the restructuring of the Veterinary Laboratory Agency.

Richard Benyon: The redeployment and redundancy of staff in the regional veterinary laboratories is being handled in accordance with departmental policy. As part of this process, we are providing individuals with priority access to the roles we have available across the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (and the wider civil service). Where an individual is at risk of redundancy and they apply for a role that is in a different location, we will support their relocation financially if there is a good business and financial justification for doing so. As yet, we have not had any requests from staff in the regional laboratories to support their relocation financially.
	All staff have been invited to state whether they would consider relocation as an option for redeployment purposes. Only five have stated that they would consider this option if it was available.

Cabinet

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  whether he has invited hon. Members to (a) regional Cabinet meetings and (b) events related to such meetings taking place in or near their constituency;
	(2)  in which cities and towns he plans to hold regional Cabinet meetings in the next 12 months;
	(3)  what criteria were used to select the locations of regional Cabinet meetings since May 2010;
	(4)  in which locations regional Cabinet meetings have taken place since May 2010; and what the estimated cost to the Exchequer was of each such meeting.

David Cameron: Since May 2010, regional Cabinets have been held in the following locations:
	
		
			 Location  Cost (£) 
			 Bradford June 2010 3,000 
			 Derby March 2011 3,000 
		
	
	
		
			 Cardiff July 2011 1,850 
			 Ipswich December 2011 1,950 
		
	
	Departments and agencies will also have incurred costs in terms of travel, staff time and other support. The cost of any security provided by the police is a matter for the relevant police force. Regional Cabinets and associated visits allow Ministers to hear at first hand the views of people in different areas of the country. The location of future meetings will be announced in due course. There has been no change in the practice followed by the previous administration for inviting hon. Members to meetings and related events.

EU Action

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the devolved Administrations on (a) the potential use of the veto and (b) other matters relating to the European Council meeting of 8 and 9 December 2011 since the Joint Ministerial Committee held on 21 December 2011;
	(2)  what discussions he had on (a) the potential use of the veto and (b) other matters relating to the European Council meeting of 8 and 9 December 2011 at the Joint Ministerial Committee held on 21 November 2011.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he had with the (a) Scottish Executive, (b) Welsh Government, (c) Northern Ireland Executive and (d) Mayor of London on use of a veto by the UK before the recent European Council.

Ann McKechin: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  when he was most recently in contact with the First Minister of Scotland (a) orally and (b) in writing concerning (i) the operation of the Eurozone and (ii) the meeting of the European Council on 8 and 9 December 2011;
	(2)  what representations he received from the First Minister of Scotland prior to the meeting of the European Council on 8 and 9 December 2011.

David Cameron: International and EU issues are a matter reserved for the UK Government. We liaise through the Joint Ministerial Committee in the usual way. As usual, a Joint Ministerial sub-Committee on Europe was held before the December European Council. All devolved Administrations were given the opportunity to feed in their views.

Housing Benefit: Armed Forces

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of families with a son or daughter in the armed forces and classed as non-resident for the purposes of housing benefit who will have their housing benefit reduced because they are deemed to be underoccupying their property from April 2013.

Steve Webb: The information needed to provide an estimate is not available.
	The number of working-age housing benefit claimants living in the social rented sector and under-occupying their accommodation has been estimated using data from the Department's Family Resources Survey. However, the information needed to estimate the number of affected claimants with non-resident sons or daughters in the armed forces is not collected.
	The impact assessment, entitled “Under-occupation of social housing”, provides information about the effect of the housing benefit change on different groups of claimants, and can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf
	On 14 December 2011, Official Report , House of Lords, columns 1300-02, the Minister for Welfare Reform, the noble Lord, Lord Freud, announced £30 million in additional funding for discretionary housing payments, starting from 2013-14. This is intended to provide additional help for working-age claimants living in the social rented sector who under-occupy their homes. We are in the process of developing guidance for local authorities on the groups of claimants that this additional funding is intended to help.

Social Security Benefits: Foreign Nationals

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Witham of 12 December 2011, Official Report, column 594W, on social security benefits: foreign nationals, on what date the recording of the nationality of benefit claimants was discontinued; what the reasons were for this decision; and on what date he plans to resume such recording.

Chris Grayling: The nationality of benefits claimants has never been systematically recorded by the Department for Work and Pension's benefit payment systems, as nationality in itself is not a condition of entitlement.
	I have commissioned work to release information regarding the nationality of benefits claimants at the point of registration for a national insurance number. I hope to make these preliminary statistics available shortly. In addition, I have asked my officials to look in to ways of capturing nationality information at source.

Winter Fuel Payments

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to improve the speed of administration of the winter fuel allowance for those aged over 80 so that people who turn 80 after 27 September in a given year receive the higher level that winter; if he will consider paying a proportion of the over 80 rate of winter fuel allowance to people who turn 80 after 27 September in a particular year once their claim has been processed; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The qualifying week for winter fuel payments is set in legislation as the third full week in September. Payment is made according to people's circumstances in that week. We use this date in order to establish entitlement and make payments before Christmas. The process to establish the entitlement of over 12 million pensioners takes six weeks and the first payments, to the poorest pensioners, are sent in early November. Payments continue to be sent through to December.
	The winter fuel payment is a simple to administer scheme. Introducing pro-rata payments would make the scheme more complex. The process of establishing the amount of entitlement in individual cases would delay payments, and add significant expense.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has put in place a contingency strategy for dealing with a work programme provider which experiences financial difficulties.

Chris Grayling: All providers were required to demonstrate at the bidding stage that they had the financial capacity to deliver the Work programme. In addition, there are mechanisms in place to forewarn the Department about the potential failure or withdrawal of providers, allowing the Department to put alternative arrangements in place before service delivery is affected.
	The Work programme contracts have been set-up with two to three providers in each contract package area, so there will be at least one alternative provider in each area which can continue to support participants should a provider fail, in advance of a competition being run to replace the failing provider.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will enable Work programme prime providers to publish the number of jobseekers they have placed into employment.

Chris Grayling: The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet the required high quality standards and we will be seeking advice from the UK Statistics Authority on whether we can permit Work programme prime providers to publish performance information ahead of the release of these official statistics on Work Programme job outcomes in autumn 2012.

Work Programme

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the most recent forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility of levels of unemployment on the capacity of work programme providers to deliver their existing contracts.

Chris Grayling: An assessment will be made following discussions about the new unemployment forecasts between DWP officials and Work Programme providers.

Work Programme

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution by the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent of 8 December 2011, Official Report, column 418W, on core cities, whether he plans to allow all local authorities to participate in the Work programme.

Chris Grayling: For the Work programme to be successful we need to tap into the experience, knowledge and specialist skills of local partners in order to deliver the personalised and localised services required in today's labour market. We expect Work programme providers to work with local authorities and local enterprise partnerships alongside other local organisations to understand and meet the needs of individuals from all customer groups.

Animal Experiments

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (a) how much her Department received through the collection of fees from those holding personal licences under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act and (b) what the operating costs were of the Animals in Science Regulation Unit in each of the last three years.

Lynne Featherstone: Section 8 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 requires that:
	“The holder of a certificate issued under section 6 or 7 shall pay such periodical fees to the Secretary of State as may be prescribed by or determined in accordance with an order made by him.”
	The fees are required to cover the cost of operating the 1986 Act. Designated breeders and suppliers pay a single fee: designated scientific procedure establishments pay a standard charge supplemented by an additional charge based on the number of live personal licences valid at that place during the fiscal year.
	Fees are charged annually one year in arrears and comply with HM Treasury fees and charges principles. The operating costs are reviewed against the accrued fee income for that particular year which is based on the actual fees received in the previous financial year. Any shortfall is taken into account the following year.
	The cost of operating the 1986 Act and accrued income are in the following table.
	
		
			 £000 
			 Fiscal year (April to March) Operating costs Estimated fee income 
			 2008-09 3,625 3,600 
			 2009-10 3,830 3,800 
			 2010-11 3,895 3,900

Animal Experiments

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what legal advice she has received on the suitability of implementing some or all of the requirements of Directive 2010/63/EU relating to animal experimentation by means of secondary legislation made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: I am advised that section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 is a suitable means by which the requirements of Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes may be transposed into United Kingdom legislation.

Entry Clearances: Iran

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements her Department has made to assist those whose personal papers and applications for visas were destroyed during the incident at the British embassy in Tehran; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency (UKBA) hopes to shortly put in place an arrangement with a third state to oversee UK interests in Iran. UKBA will work with that country to assess how best to return to their owners documents submitted during the visa application process. Every effort has been made to secure these documents. Applicants will be informed as soon as possible about these arrangements but it is currently not possible to say exactly when this will happen. UKBA is aware that some applicants are urgently seeking the return of their documents and deeply regret that the attack on the embassy has resulted in such inconvenience or distress.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2011, Official Report, column 457W, on EU Justice and Home Affairs, what progress has been made in compiling the list of police and criminal justice instruments adopted under the pre-Lisbon treaty third pillar arrangements which would be liable to transfer to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in 2014 should the UK opt to accept the transfer at the end of the transitional period granted under Article 10 of Protocol 36 to the consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 15 December 2011
	The provisions of Article 10(1) and the notification under Article 10(4) of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions apply to acts of the Union in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters which have been adopted before the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty on 1 December 2009 where those acts have not subsequently been repealed, annulled or amended.
	Officials are currently finalising the list of measures which the Government anticipate will fall within the scope of this notification and this will be made available to Parliament as soon as possible.

Organised Crime: Crime Prevention

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the report, Ending Gang and Youth Violence, whether the £10 million of funding to be distributed by April 2012 had previously been allocated for other purposes; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The £10 million on funding is a prioritisation of previously announced Home Office investment in early intervention as the Ending Gang and Youth Violence report states.

Security Guards: Licensing

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether her Department has issued any covert licences for security guards at Thames Water;
	(2)  how many covert licences were issued in the last two years.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 15 December 2011
	Security Industry licences are issued by the Security Industry Authority (SIA). Security operatives working under contract require a SIA licence and must adhere to certain licence conditions, one of which is to have the licence on display at all times while working. A specific covert activity can be applied if an operative can demonstrate that the nature of their conduct on that occasion requires them to not be identifiable. This covert activity allows, for example, store detectives or close protection operatives to perform licensable activities without the need to be identifiable. However, all security operatives must carry their licence on them and produce it on request. The SIA do not require individuals to report if they use this specific licence condition, but the breach of any licence condition is an offence liable to prosecution. An SIA licence is issued to the individual and the SIA does not hold records of their employer.

Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding her Department allocated for work to benefit girls or young women who have been victims or are at risk of gang-related sexual exploitation and abuse in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011 to date; and how much funding she plans to allocate for such purposes in (i) 2012, (ii) 2013 and (iii) 2014.

Lynne Featherstone: The Ending Gang and Youth Violence report, published on 1 November 2011, announced £400,000 per year for 2012, 2013 and 2014 to improve services to support children under 18 suffering from rape and sexual abuse. This will include services targeted at girls and young women who are suffering from sexual exploitation from gangs.
	The £4 million Communities Against Guns, Gangs and Knives fund announced in February 2011 includes funding projects supporting girls and young women involved in gang related violence during 2011-12 and 2012-13, some of those services will tackle sexual violence.
	Ring-fenced funding for services aimed at girls at risk of sexual exploitation from gangs was not available in 2010-11.

Theft: Metals

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the statement on page 57 of the Autumn Statement (Cm 8231) that the Government will invest £5 million to set up a nationwide taskforce to target metal thieves and scrap metal dealers who illegally trade in stolen metal, of whom this taskforce will comprise; who will lead the taskforce; what the anticipated timescale is of its operation; on what basis its budget has been set; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The details of the national metal theft taskforce are currently being developed, in liaison with the British Transport police which is leading this work, and will be announced shortly.

Vetting

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to ensure that individuals charged with, but not convicted of, criminal offences have recourse to remove any allegations from their enhanced Criminal Records Bureau checks.

Lynne Featherstone: The Protection of Freedoms Bill will, when enacted, make amendments to part V of the Police Act, 1997. Specifically, a process will be introduced for people to ask for an independent review of any information disclosed by a chief officer on an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) certificate that they consider not to be relevant or ought not to be included on the certificate.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what receptions and events have been hosted by his Department since May 2010, including those sponsored by third parties.

John Penrose: The receptions and events shown in the table have been hosted by Ministers since May 2010.
	
		
			 Minister Month and year Reception/event 
			 Jeremy Hunt May 2010- Culture speech 
			 Jeremy Hunt May 2010 Media speech 
			 Jeremy Hunt June 2010 Tourism speech 
			 Hugh Robertson September 2010 Reception for chairs and CEOs of sporting bodies 
			 Ed Vaizey November 2010 Future of UK film industry event 
			 Hugh Robertson November 2010 Sports reception 
			 Jeremy Hunt December 2010 Reception for journalists 
			 Hugh Robertson March 2011 Valedictory dinner for David Higgins 
			 Ed Vaizey March 2011 BT parliamentary reception 
			 Hugh Robertson August 2011 Journalists reception 
			 Jeremy Hunt August 2011 Local TV road shows: Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Newport 
			 Jeremy Hunt September 2011 Local TV road shows: Glasgow, Belfast, London 
		
	
	Information about ministerial meetings with outside interest groups can be found on the Departments' Transparency website at the following link:
	http://www.transparency.culture.gov.uk/
	Other events, such as Round Table meetings hosted by the Departments' officials and Ministers are not compiled centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost for the period requested.

Internet: Access

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the findings of the Communications Management Association's Internet Opportunity Survey; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport helped to fund this survey, and the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has noted the findings with great interest. It is important that we have a firm evidence base with which to inform, and develop our policy making, and the Communications Management Association's Internet Opportunity Survey has made—and will continue to make—a valuable contribution to that.

Olympic Games 2012

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the legacy objectives of the London 2012 Olympics.

Hugh Robertson: We have set out our four legacy objectives in the Government’s Legacy Plan published in December 2010:
	Harnessing the United Kingdom’s passion for sport to increase school-based and grass-roots participation in competitive sport—and to encourage the whole population to be more physically active;
	Exploiting to the full the opportunities for economic growth offered by hosting the games, particularly with reference to inward investment and tourism;
	Promoting community engagement and participation in voluntary work across all groups in society through the games; and
	Ensuring that the Olympic Park can be developed after the games as one of the principal drivers of regeneration in east London, with particular focus on the digital and creative industries.
	In meeting these objectives:
	We are confident that the London 2012 games will leave behind a significant sporting legacy. Olympic venues and investment in training facilities will support local communities after the games. We are strengthening grass-roots sport through the Places People Play initiative: more than a thousand local sports clubs and facilities will be improved, the nation’s playing fields protected, and 40,000 new community sports leaders recruited. We are inspiring young people, including through the School games programme to get more schoolchildren excited by competitive sport—more than 11,000 schools are already signed up.
	London 2012 expects to have directly procured £6 billion worth of contracts, generating tens of thousands of supply chain contract opportunities. To date, the ODA has directly awarded contracts worth £6 billion to over 1,500 suppliers, 98% of which have been awarded to companies in the UK. The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is now undertaking procurement for £700 million worth of goods and services from the open market. We are committed to ensuring that the tourism industry maximise the economic benefits provided by the games. Including new money that has recently been announced from the GREAT campaign, plus private sector support, VisitBritain will invest around £127 million in a new international marketing programme. Over the next four years, it is expected to deliver 4.6 million extra visitors from overseas and £2.27 billion in extra visitor spend.
	We are promoting community engagement though the Inspire and community-based programmes. To date, over 2,000 community-based projects have been awarded, the Inspire Mark, which is awarded to high-quality non-commercial projects inspired by the games. Also the Nations and Regions Group, established by the Government and the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), works directly with each UK nation and region to help them realise and maximise the benefits from the economic, sporting and cultural opportunities offered by the games. Over 240,000 people applied for the 70,000 available places on the London 2012 Games Maker programme. LOCOG is now offering roles to successful applicants.
	The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) is leading the transformation and development of the park after the games. The OPLC submitted their Legacy Communities Scheme planning application in October 2011 to guide the development needed to create up to a further 6,800 new homes (with a focus on family housing), schools and health centres, employment space for up to 4,400 jobs, and a strong sporting legacy from the park venues. The new £1.43 billion Westfield retail development at Stratford City is the largest urban shopping centre in Europe and employs 10,000 people, many of them local residents. Volterra, a consultancy commissioned by Westfield, estimates that eventually this will rise to 20,000 people. Westfield is just the start of the Olympic legacy and a symbol of the big changes coming to east London. The Olympic Park will be developed as a national and international hub for fast-growing creative and digital industries and attracting new investment to the country.

Olympic Games 2012

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment has been made of the potential effects of the London 2012 Olympics on Sittingbourne and Sheppey constituency.

Hugh Robertson: The Government and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) established the Nations and Regions Group to ensure UK-wide engagement and to maximise the legacy from London 2012. This group works directly with representatives from each of the nations and English regions to realise the sporting, economic, and cultural benefits of the 2012 games.
	The South East stands to gain from the wide range of opportunities created by the 2012 games, through businesses winning games-related work, increased tourism and cultural celebrations. Some examples of how Kent, and specifically your own constituency, will benefit from the games are as follows.
	Over 22,000 schools and colleges across the UK have registered for LOCOG's London 2012 education programme, Get Set. 631 schools and colleges are registered in Kent including schools in Sittingbourne and Sheppey. We are also introducing the School Games, a new school sport competition which will provide more opportunities for pupils to compete in sport through a vibrant programme of regular intra- and inter-school competitions. All schools are being encouraged to sign up.
	Also, “Places People Play”, the mass participation Olympic legacy programme, will bring sporting legacy to life in communities across the country. This will be achieved by transforming the places where people play sport, inspiring people to make sport happen at a local level and creating sporting opportunities that give everyone the chance to become part of the mass participation legacy.
	The London 2012 games will leave behind a significant sporting legacy, as well as programmes to increase participation; the whole country will benefit from London winning the right to stage the World Athletics Championships in 2017.
	Over 2,000 cultural or sporting projects across the UK have been awarded the Inspire marks. In the South East 181 projects have been awarded Inspire marks. One example is Making it Last—a project led by Kent county council and the Sittingbourne Community College. It teaches young people about the importance of sustainability in a creative way. It also draws on the Olympic values and the games' Sustainability Plan. Further information can be found at:
	http://www.kent20in12.org.uk/index.php/case-studies/ page/63/
	There has been significant support for the London 2012 Games Maker programme, with many people volunteering for the first time and the potential to carry that ambition forward in their own community beyond 2012. 240,000 people applied for the 70,000 places and LOCOG is now offering roles to successful applicants. The response to the opportunity to nominate a torchbearer to carry the flame on the Olympic torch relay has also been hugely positive. More details, including the route through the South East, can be found at the following link:
	http://www.london2012.com/olympic-torch-relay
	The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has awarded contracts to over 233 direct suppliers in the South East. One of these suppliers is CIPD Publishing, based in Sittingbourne and Sheppey. Information on businesses that have directly supplied the ODA is available in the business section of the London 2012 website at the following link:
	http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/business-network/oda-suppliers/index.php
	This information does not include contracts further down the supply chain, in tiers two, three and so on, which are awarded by the tier one contractors and not by the ODA. Also, 431 contracts have been awarded to companies in the region through CompeteFor (the website where London 2012 contract opportunities are advertised).
	We are also committed to ensuring that the tourism industry maximises the economic benefits provided by the games. Including new money that has recently been announced from the GREAT campaign, plus private sector support, VisitBritain will invest around £127 million in a new international marketing programme. Over the next four years it is expected to deliver 4.6 million extra visitors from overseas and £2.27 billion in extra visitor spend.

Olympic Games 2012

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport for what reasons the budget for the London 2012 Olympics ceremonies has been increased.

Hugh Robertson: The ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to showcase the very best of our country to up to 4 billion people around the world, and could be worth up to £5 billion in advertising value. To get the ceremonies absolutely right, and boost the Games business and tourism legacy, we are putting additional investment into the ceremonies.

Children: Disability

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department last conducted research on the number of (a) deaf blind and (b) multi-sensory impaired children.

Sarah Teather: The school census provides annual data on the number of pupils with multi-sensory impairment receiving support at school action plus and as part of a statement of educational needs. This is published as part of the annual analysis of children with special educational needs. The most recent analysis was published on 19 October 2011 and is available on the DFE website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001032/index.shtml
	A national audit of support services and provision for children with low incidence needs, including multi-sensory impairment was published in 2006 and is available on the DFE website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/sen/sen/data/a0013116/national-audit-of-low-incidence-special-educational-needs-support-services-and-provision
	In addition, the Department funds the National Sensory Impairment Partnership to support local areas to improve outcomes for children with sensory impairments. Their work includes information sharing and benchmarking of local needs and services. More information is available at:
	www.natsip.org.uk

Children’s Centres: Leicester

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department plans to allocated to children's centres in Leicester South constituency in each of the next four years.

Sarah Teather: Since April 2011, funding for children's centres has been included within the Early Intervention Grant (EIG). The allocation for 2011-12 and the indicative allocation for 2012-13 for Leicester city council are shown in the following table. Funding beyond March 2013 is subject to future announcements.
	The EIG is an un-ring-fenced and un-hypothecated funding stream that gives local authorities flexibility to target resources strategically and to intervene early to improve outcomes for children, young people and families. It is up to local authorities to judge how best to use this funding in consultation with local communities, taking account of local need and evidence of what is most effective. Local authorities have statutory duties under the Childcare Act 2006 to provide sufficient children's centres to meet local need so far as is reasonably practicable, and to ensure there is consultation before opening, closing or making significant changes to services through children's centres.
	
		
			  Early Intervention Grant (£) 
			 2011-12 18,584,125 
			 2012-13 19,360,725

Departmental Audit

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria (a) his Department and (b) its public bodies use when deciding whether and when to hold an internal audit; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: Potential internal audit tasks are identified and prioritised on an iterative basis using a system of high level risk assessments across all key business areas. These assessments result in weighted scores for key risks areas including financial, reputational, delivery capacity and capability. Those business areas with the highest scores are prioritised for audit attention. Other sources of assurance are also taken into account to avoid potential duplication and nugatory work.
	Identification of new and key business areas are identified through discussions with management and review of documentation such as business plans, budget plans, and ministerial submissions.
	Internal audit services within the non-departmental public bodies will also be conducted on a risk-based approach but are directed and managed by the individual accounting officers and hence we do not have access to more specific information.

Special Educational Needs: Children

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  if he will publish the representations received by his Department on the information contained in its publication, Children with Special Educational Needs 2011: an analysis;
	(2)  what representations he has received to request that (a) local authority indicators and (b) regional level data not be compiled for his Department's publication Children with Special Educational Needs 2011: an analysis.

Sarah Teather: The Department received two items of feedback on the publication 'Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) 2010: an analysis'. This feedback shaped the content of the equivalent 2011 release. It included requests to retain the summary of key findings for each chapter, to limit the information displayed in cluttered charts and to give less emphasis on pupils in special schools with no SEN or at School Action for which numbers were very small.
	The feedback also included requests for data on progression by school type and historic data on numbers of pupils with each primary type of SEN by age. The data were supplied to the correspondents separately. The Department has no plans to publish this correspondence in the public domain.

Afghanistan: Minerals

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking together with the Afghan government to prevent exploitation of Afghanistan's mineral wealth.

Andrew Mitchell: Afghanistan's mineral resource wealth is central to its long-term prosperity. The Department for International Development (DFID) is actively engaged in helping the Government undertake major reforms in order to maximise the benefits of these natural resources to the local economy and the Afghan people. DFID provides support to the Afghan Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Secretariat, to help ensure greater accountability and openness in the industry. DFID also provides technical expertise to the Ministry of Mines, helping to generate international investment that includes a fair deal for the Government of Afghanistan and brings about long term economic growth and jobs for local communities.

Commonwealth Development Corporation

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that the Commonwealth Development Corporation (a) meets international standards for aid transparency set out in the International Aid Transparency Initiative and (b) publishes information at (i) organisation level, (ii) country level and (iii) activity level.

Andrew Mitchell: CDC became a signatory to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) on 30 November and will begin to publish data in an IATI compliant format in the second quarter of 2012.
	CDC publishes organisational information on its website:
	www.cdcgroup.com
	along with country and sector information about the fund managers it works with, the funds CDC invests in and the businesses receiving CDC investment.

Departmental Catering

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on food purchased through its food and catering services in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development's (DFID two staff restaurants have operated under contract to Mitie Technical Facilities Management since December 2010. The catering section of this contract is run on a non-subsidised basis and therefore DFID is not responsible for procuring any food for its two United Kingdom offices.

International Conferences: Sustainable Development

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which Department will have lead responsibility for the Rio plus 20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is the lead Department for the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. DEFRA is working closely with other Government Departments, including the Department for International Development in preparing for the conference.

International Conferences: Sustainable Development

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department will attend the Rio plus 20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012.

Andrew Mitchell: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), is leading the UK's preparations for Rio+20 and has confirmed that she will attend. The Department for International Development (DFID) is working closely with DEFRA and other Government Departments in preparation for Rio+20. A decision has not yet been taken on attendance by DFID Ministers and officials. This decision will be taken in the new year.

Overseas Aid

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's planned spending on Official Development Assistance (ODA) was for (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14 prior to the Autumn Statement; and what its planned spending on ODA for each of those years now is.

Andrew Mitchell: In the recent autumn statement, the Government have recommitted itself to delivering 0.7% of GNI as ODA and meeting the ODA/GNI ratios as set out in the spending review.
	Because the Government needs less money to meet 0.7%, they reduced the amounts allocated to ODA and to DFID in particular. Our programme budget has been reduced by around £1.1 billion over the next three years. No changes are being made to administration or front line delivery budgets.
	The following table details the Department's planned spending on ODA per calendar year as set out in the 2010 spending review and the revised amounts since the autumn statement.
	
		
			 Calendar year ODA forecasts (in £ million) 
			  Original 2010 SR settlement Updated 2010 SR settlement 
			 2011 7,810 7,707 
			 2012 8,145 7,938 
			 2013 10,834 10,581 
			 2014 11,491 10,957

Overseas Aid

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much Official Development Assistance funding his Department allocated to each of the multilateral programmes it funds for (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14 prior to the Autumn Statement; and how much such funding for each country in each of those years is now allocated.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) provides core funding to a large number of multilateral organisations. All of this funding is related to performance. Allocations for 2013-14 will depend on an update to the Multilateral Aid Review which will take place in 2013. Allocations for other years are also indicative only, as they may be varied according to need as well as performance. These indicative allocations have not changed following the Autumn Statement.
	We have produced a table to show the breakdown of the indicative allocations of core funding through each multilateral organisation for 2011-12 and 2012-13. We will place a copy of the table in the House of Commons Library.
	This support is core, so the multilateral organisations decide on how it is allocated by country. As such, we are unable to provide the breakdown by country.

Overseas Aid: Agricultural

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what proportion of his Department's expenditure has been allocated to agricultural projects in each (a) region and (b) country in 2011-12; and how much has been allocated to each individual project.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development's (DFID) total and percentage expenditure allocated to agricultural projects in 2011-12 is not yet available as the breakdown of multilateral expenditure by sector is not reported until the following financial year.
	In 2011-12 the total bilateral expenditure allocated to agriculture is £136,904,067. A table detailing DFID's 2011-12 bilateral expenditure allocated to agriculture, by project and region/country, has been submitted into the House Library.

Aircraft Carriers

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the UK's carrier strike capability.

Nick Harvey: Nothing has changed since the SDSR in that there is a strategic requirement for a future carrier strike capability. Our assessment that expeditionary airpower can be delivered through other means in the short-term was illustrated by the campaign in Libya, this also confirmed our assumption that working more closely with allies and partners is both possible and delivers more military capability.
	The strategic environment in the period after 2020 is far less certain. This is why the Government believe that a modem carrier capability, able to undertake a variety of roles such as power projection, peace keeping, conflict prevention and the provision of aid and assistance in times of crisis, will be required.

Aircraft Carriers

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the likely (a) cost of and (b) enhanced capability arising from the aircraft carrier programme.

Peter Luff: Our latest cost estimate for the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft carrier programme is £5.2 billion. This figure is based on the current configuration of the carriers and does not include the additional costs of installing catapults and arrestor gear to enable it to operate the more capable carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter decision which will be taken next year. The costs of conversion are under investigation, but are currently estimated to be in the order of £1 billion.
	As part of a package of measures taken in the strategic defence and security review we have reduced overall spending on the Carrier Strike Programme by £4.4 billion over the next 10 years.

Armed Forces: Housing

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse was of official service residence for members of the (a) Royal Air Force, (b) Army and (c) Royal Navy in the last year for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: Under the official service residence arrangements, entitlement was linked to the post which an officer had been assigned, rather than to the individual who occupied it. For the financial year 2010-11, we have estimated that the total cost attributed to 26 official service residences is some £4.7 million. This includes rent, utilities, planned and unplanned maintenance, improvements, furniture and equipment, household staff, and official entertainment. It is important to note that many official service residences are grade listed buildings and are protected by law. As a result they are often expensive to maintain whether they are occupied or not.
	Final costings for the financial year 2010-11 are currently being compiled.

Armed Forces: Suicide

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2011, Official Report, column 231W, on armed forces: suicide, how many suicides were recorded (a) among male veterans and (b) men in the UK aged under the age of 24 years in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: Further to the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 8 November 2011, Official Report, column 231W, the Ministry of Defence does not hold overall figures for suicides among veterans.
	The latest figures for suicide and open verdict deaths for male army personnel aged 24 and under are for the period 2006-10, and are as follows:
	
		
			 Age Number 
			 Under 20 4 
			 20-24 6 
		
	
	We continue to treat the issue of self-harm very seriously and, for those in the army, the risk of suicide has been decreasing over the past 15 or so years. Current figures show that male army personnel aged under 20 were at a 9% decreased risk of suicide compared to the general UK population, and male army personnel aged 20-24 at a 70% decreased risk.

Armed Forces: Young People

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of Army recruits aged (a) under 18 years and (b) 18 years and over completed Phase Two training and entered the trained strength in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: The required information is not held in the format requested. While information is available on the number completing Phase 2 training each year, this is not held against date of birth and the requested information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, the Army have conducted some work on the numbers leaving and completing training and have identified that in financial year 2010-11, 63.4% of under 18s completed Phase 2 training and 71.7% of those who enlisted over the age of 18 completed Phase 2 training.

Defence: Finance

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment his Department has made of the balance between commitments and revenues in the defence budget (a) now and (b) at the time of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Philip Hammond: At the time of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), the then Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), announced a shortfall between our programme and our budget of £38 billion based on the Department's previous policy assumptions.. These were changed during the SDSR and, as a result, this figure does not bear comparison with the current situation.
	The then Secretary of State for Defence announced to Parliament on 18 July 2011, Official Report, columns 643-5, that the actions taken since the SDSR had brought the Department's programme and budget broadly into balance. This has not changed.

Departmental Information Officers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) job titles and (b) job descriptions are of each of the (i) press officers and (ii) other public relations officers working in his Department.

Andrew Robathan: Communicators are employed across Defence and the armed forces. They have an important task in explaining to the public, the media, our own people and other audiences—at local, regional, national and international levels—the role of Defence, our activities, capabilities and operations.
	The latest centrally held records of communications posts are as at 31 March 2011. From this record we have extracted those declared as 'press officers' and separately those identified through post titles as 'public relations'. This information has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Post titles within Defence have evolved over a number of years and are not standardised across the Ministry of Defence. Job descriptions are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The information placed in the Library of the House includes both military and civilian posts worldwide; they represent a reduction compared with the previous year; further savings have been made across the communications area during the course of the current financial year and more reductions are planned for future years.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2011, Official Report, columns 1293-94W, on departmental public expenditure, under what categories of cost within his Department’s Efficiency programme he expects savings to be made for each of the next four financial years.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 15 December 2011
	The Ministry of Defence is aiming to make efficiency savings under the following categories during the next four financial years:
	Changes to Civilian Terms and Conditions of Service
	Manpower Reductions (Service and Civilian)
	Estates Rationalisation
	Organisational Restructuring
	Restructuring of Training Organisations
	Reducing Ministry of Defence Police and Guards Agency running costs
	Asset Sales
	Centralisation and Rationalisation of provision of manning, legal and chaplaincy services
	Contractorisation

Departmental Publications

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2011, Official Report, column 602W, on departmental publications, whether The Strategy for Defence, October 2011 was produced by employees of his Department or by an outside contractor; how many working hours were required to produce the document; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether anyone other than those individuals named was sent a copy of The Strategy for Defence, October 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Hammond: Ministry of Defence (MOD) employees spent a total of 46 hours on the design, graphics production, and layout of the Strategy for Defence. The printing was conducted by a MOD contractor.
	Only those individuals that I mentioned in my answer of 25 November 2011, Official Report, column 602W, were sent a copy of the Strategy for Defence by the office of my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), and the Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Lord Astor of Hever). Additional copies were subsequently provided by the Ministry of Defence's Parliamentary Branch to other members of the Defence Select Committee.

MODPGA: Scotland

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the contribution of Ministry of Defence Police to the security of the defence estate in Scotland.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) attaches very high importance to the role played by the MOD police, and other security providers, in safeguarding its people, information and assets across the Defence estate, including its sites in Scotland.
	The MOD's single highest security priority continues to be the protection of the UK's nuclear deterrent, where a significant contribution is provided by MOD police officers based at Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde and the Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport.

Submarines: Females

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to encourage women in the Royal Navy to apply to serve on Vanguard and Astute-class submarines.

Philip Hammond: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage) and my hon. Friend the Member for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin).

Darinderpal Singh Bhullar

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Indian authorities on the case of Professor Darinderpal Singh Bhullar.

Jeremy Browne: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has not raised Mr Bhullar's case with the Indian authorities. However I have written to the Indian high commissioner, most recently on 7 November, reiterating the UK Government's strong opposition to the death penalty and urging the Indian authorities not to break their seven-year de facto moratorium on the death penalty. I have also raised our concerns with then Indian Foreign Secretary Rao on 28 June, and with Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur on 5 July. We continue to urge the Government of India to establish a formal moratorium as a first step towards the abolition of the death penalty in India.

Diplomatic Service: Languages

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many heads of mission are serving in overseas postings; and how many have completed the extensive level language qualification which is linked to additional remuneration.

Henry Bellingham: There are 142 bilateral heads of mission serving in overseas postings: 105 ambassadors and 37 high commissioners. Of the 142, 96 have been identified as having a language requirement and 72 have qualified in the necessary Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) language exams. Of the 72 bilateral heads of mission with exam records, 22 have passed the FCO Extensive exam, CEFR level C2, the most advanced level of fluency. All FCO officers serving overseas in speaker slots (Confidence, Operational or Extensive) are entitled to claim additional remuneration for the duration of their overseas posting, provided they have passed the appropriate examination.

Lord's Resistance Army

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the Lord's Resistance Army's activities in (a) the Central African Republic, (b) the Democratic Republic of Congo, (c) South Sudan and (d) Uganda.

Henry Bellingham: We receive regular reports on the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) from our diplomatic missions covering these countries, and through bodies such as the UN.
	The most credible recent information suggests that 250 to 300 LRA fighters remain, scattered in small units across the region. While its numbers have been much reduced over the past decade because of military action (led by Uganda) and progress with demobilisation and repatriation under UN auspices in some areas, the LRA remains a destabilising force and a threat to civilian populations.

Nigeria: Foreign Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the UK’s relationship with Nigeria; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: The UK enjoys good relations with Nigeria, including through historic, cultural and economic ties. Our mission in Nigeria is one of the largest in sub-Saharan African, with a high commission in Abuja and a deputy high commission in Lagos. The Prime Minister visited Nigeria in July 2011, accompanied by the Minister of State for Trade and investment, my noble Friend, Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, and the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), to develop and promote our relationship. The key elements of this are boosting bilateral trade, investment and growth; encouraging good governance and democratic practice; aiding development; and supporting Nigerian security architecture to combat both national and international threats. The bilateral communiqué from the Prime Minister’s visit sets out the critical parts of the British Government’s policy towards Nigeria. It can be found online at:
	www.number10.gov.uk/news/communique-on-nigeria-trade-mission/

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will assess the most recent report by Amnesty International on human rights violations in Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Amnesty International Report on Saudi Arabia summarises the current human rights situation in Saudi Arabia. It covers the draft anti-terror law, detentions and trials and freedom of expression. Our embassy in Riyadh has been engaged in a dialogue with the Saudi Arabian Government on these issues for some time. There is widespread acceptance in the Saudi Government and Saudi human rights organisations that the draft anti-terror law is unsuitable in its present form: the current draft is extremely unlikely to pass into law. Our embassy has raised the issue of arbitrary detentions with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice and has been given permission to attend a forthcoming terror trial.
	We have asked the Saudi authorities for more information with regard to the case referred to in the report which concerns 16 men convicted under anti-terror legislation to sentences ranging from five to 30 years, before we determine our next course of action. Freedom of expression concerns largely relate to the periods of unrest in the Eastern Province this year. Following the most recent outbreak of unrest in November, we note the Saudi Arabian Government issued a statement that security forces have been instructed to exercise restraint. We welcome the willingness of Saudi Arabian human rights organisations to engage with Amnesty on human rights concerns, which will raise awareness of the progress made by Saudi Arabia to date and give greater clarity on the requirements for further reform.

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Saudi Arabia on human rights.

Alistair Burt: I discussed human rights in Saudi Arabia during my visit there on 26/27 April 2011, when I met Dr Bandar Al-Aiban, chairman of the Saudi Arabian Human Rights Commission, an organisation that works closely with the Saudi Arabian Government on human rights issues. I had a frank and honest discussion with Dr Al-Aiban, making no secret of the UK's concerns on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia. The treatment of women, the application of the death penalty and the status of foreign workers were all raised. On 5 July, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), met with the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister, Prince Saud, to discuss a range of issues, including women's rights. I travelled to Saudi Arabia on 23 November and discussed a wide range of human rights issues. In addition, our ambassador and the embassy team in Riyadh have raised human rights concerns with the Saudi Arabian Government, bilaterally and through the European Union.

Somalia: Piracy

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to the international community of piracy off the coast of Somalia in terms of (a) financial losses borne by shipping companies and (b) expenditure on military and naval operations.

Henry Bellingham: The turnover of the British shipping industry is worth £10.7 billion of our national GDP. Nearly 1 trillion dollars of trade to and from Europe travelled through the Gulf of Aden in 2008 and this is the second busiest international trade route in the world. One World Future has estimated that piracy could be costing the global economy up to $12 billion a year in direct costs and indirect costs such as increased insurance premiums.
	There has been no estimate of the international community's total expenditure on counter-piracy operations. Expenditure on military and naval operations is borne by the contributing state. For UK. contributions, the cost for counter-piracy operations is a component of the annual operating costs of the Royal Navy, on which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office holds no data. The average annual running costs of the EU's Operation Atalanta are €8 million per year, of which the UK contributes on average £700,000 per year.
	The British Government are playing a leading role in the counter-piracy operations at sea, and leading international work with regional countries to build penal, judicial and law enforcement capacities in support, with more than 1,000 pirates now in custody. The first line of defence remains self-defence measures by ships to minimise the risk of a successful highjack. But the long-term solution lies on land, with rule of law. increased stability and economic development.

South Sudan: Equality

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to promote equality in South Sudan.

Henry Bellingham: As a new nation state, South Sudan has the opportunity to put gender equality at the heart of its developing institutions. In addition to the Department for International Development's work, the British embassy is supporting women's active participation in peace-building and stabilisation initiatives, in particular, the mainstreaming of gender in South Sudan's police and security sector reform. There are some positive indicators of success, for example, the fact that women police officers represent 50% of the police force in some of South Sudan's states.
	However, women are still under-represented in many areas of government and we are encouraging the Government of South Sudan to make it a priority to increase their involvement.

South Sudan: Foreign Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the UK's relations with South Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: The Government are committed to supporting South Sudan to become a viable and peaceful state, underpinned by good governance, respect for human rights and an environment in which humanitarian assistance can reach all that need it. We are working closely with the Government in South Sudan and with our international partners in pursuit of those goals.
	We are concerned that progress is endangered by continuing internal conflicts as well as tensions with Sudan. We urge the Governments of South Sudan and Sudan to resolve their outstanding issues peacefully and are supporting the mediation efforts. We are also providing funding and support to conflict resolution within South Sudan.
	The British Government are providing over £90 million a year for the next four years to help the people of South Sudan. This funding will support international efforts to promote peace and stability in South Sudan. Specifically, our assistance will help: build more accountable, inclusive and transparent government; deliver basic services such as education, clean water and healthcare; support economic growth; provide humanitarian relief; and improve security and access to justice.

Care Quality Commission: Pay

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many special severance payments have been notified to HM Treasury by the Care and Quality Commission in each of the last three years.

Danny Alexander: HM Treasury received two special severance payment cases from the Care Quality Commission in 2011, three in 2010 and one in 2009.

Departmental Publications

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) leaflets, (b) posters and (c) reports his Department has published since May 2010; how much each cost; and which company (i) published and (ii) designed each.

Chloe Smith: The Treasury has not produced any leaflets or posters since May 2010.
	Since May 2010, the Treasury has published around 199 documents which are all available on its website. The Stationery Office are used to publish House of Commons and Command Papers. All document published by both TSO and the Treasury are designed and typeset by the in-house team at the Treasury.
	It is not always possible to separate out the exact costs of a specific publication from overall publications costs. In line with wider Government practice, any individual publishing projects exceeding £25,000 are listed separately on the Treasury website.

Households: Personal Savings

Hazel Blears: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether he plans to take steps to increase the household savings ratio;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the long-term household savings ratio (a) in the North West and (b) nationally;
	(3)  whether his Department has undertaken a comparative assessment of the UK household savings ratio and that in other G20 countries;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the number of people in the North West who have no personal savings.

Mark Hoban: The Government aim to achieve strong, sustainable, and balanced growth, underpinned by a credible deficit reduction plan. Growth and stability will provide a context in which it is easier for households to make long-term savings and investment decisions.
	In the long-term the Government want a strong saving culture to be a foundation for investment and sustainable growth. The Government have introduced a number of savings policies to meet their objectives. These include, but are not limited to:
	improving financial access by introducing the Money Advice Service and commissioning industry to develop a suite of simple financial products;
	indexing the amount that can be paid into ISAs each year;
	introducing junior ISAs; and
	introducing regulation to require employers to automatically enrol employees into a workplace pension and make a minimum contribution.
	The OECD provides details of the saving ratio for a number of countries. The UK saving ratio for the 2nd quarter of 2011 was 7.4%. It is difficult to compare between countries due to methodological differences.
	The saving ratio is not produced at a regional level. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) projects the saving ratio for the UK as a whole to average around 6% over the next four years.
	The Government use survey evidence to provide statistics about personal savings, to inform the development of policy. The Family Resources Survey has data for savings and investments of households, including regional analysis. The most recent release can be found here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/frs/

Money Advice Service: Pay

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) discussions and (b) written communications he has had with (i) the Financial Services Authority, (ii) the Office of Fair Trading and (iii) the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the remuneration package to the board of directors and chief executive of the Money Advice Service.

Mark Hoban: Treasury Ministers have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.
	The Government are committed to public sector pay restraint, and believe that senior managers should show leadership in this area. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), approves any civil service appointments in areas under ministerial control for those earning over £142,500.
	The Financial Services Authority is, however, responsible for appointing the chief executive and board directors of the Money Advice Service and setting the terms of the appointments.

VAT: Press

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what definition of (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) books is used by HM Revenue and Customs to determine whether items should be subject to the zero rate of VAT;
	(2)  what the estimated revenue from VAT would be if it were charged at (a) 5 per cent. and (b) 20 per cent. for newspapers and magazines.

David Gauke: There is no definition in VAT law of what are newspapers, magazines and books. HMRC therefore use the terms in their ordinary, everyday sense. The description of each term can be found in chapter 3 of HMRC Public Notice 701/10—"Zero-rating of books etc".
	No estimate has been made of the revenue from value added tax if it were charged at 5% or 20% for newspapers and magazines.
	An estimate of the cost of the zero-rating of books, newspapers and magazines is published in Table 1.5 “Main Tax Expenditures and Reliefs” on the HMRC website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table1-5.xls
	However, this estimate does not account for any behavioural effects (the resulting fall in demand) that would result from changes to the rate of value added tax.

Electronic Tagging

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Attorney-General if the Crown Prosecution Service will ask magistrates to ensure that overnight curfew orders for repeat juvenile offenders are accompanied by electronic tagging orders.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service seek electronic monitoring to reinforce a curfew condition where it is necessary to prevent the youth from committing further offences while on bail or on remand to local authority accommodation; and, the statutory criteria for its use are satisfied. The court cannot order electronic monitoring unless the youth offending team have informed the court that electronic monitoring is suitable for the youth.

Carbon Emissions

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate (a) the carbon dioxide emissions likely to be generated by the number of additional UK residents projected by 2033 and (b) renewable energy capacity needed to abate and maintain current total emissions.

Gregory Barker: The latest official government projections by DECC for greenhouse gas emissions including carbon dioxide were published in October 2011:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/about/ec_social_res/analytic_projs/en_emis_projs/en_emis_projs.aspx
	These provide projections for the period up to 2030. Projections beyond 2030 are not available. The projections assume that the UK population increases by 6.8 million between 2010 and 2030. This is the ONS principal 2008-based population projection, low migration variant. The 2008-based population projections were the latest available at the time of publication. Projections under the latest ONS 2010-based population projections are not available.
	Over the period 2010 to 2030 emissions are projected to fall by 168 MtCO2e from 586 MtCO2e to 418 MtCO2e. Carbon dioxide emissions are projected to fall by 146 MtCO2 from 496 MtCO2 to 350 MtCO2 over the same period. The projected fall is attributable to a range of factors including policy impacts on energy efficiency and increased use of renewable energy.
	Government have not looked at the amount of renewable electricity required to maintain current total emissions given the changes in population. However, under the central scenario assumptions in the emissions projections, renewable energy demand is projected to increase by 23 Mega tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) from 8.2 Mtoe to 30.9 Mtoe between 2010 and 2030. Renewables electricity generation capacity is projected to increase by 33 GW from 9 GW to 42 GW over the same period. This increase, together with other policy initiatives, is projected to be sufficient to maintain emissions. As explained in the report, the generation and capacity mix is dependent on a number of assumptions. Other assumptions would lead to projected electricity demand being met by different capacity and generation mixes. Modelling developed for the Carbon Plan published in December 2012 shows that by 2030 total renewable capacity could be between 35 and 50 GW under an assumed population growth of 6.8 million. The Carbon Plan can be found at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/carbon_plan/carbon_plan.aspx

Energy: Meters

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to assess (a) wireless, (b) cellular and (c) other options for the installation and subsequent operation of smart meters.

Charles Hendry: Our requirements for communication services to and from Smart Meters are technology neutral and we will assess the relative merits of the solutions that bidders propose through the procurement processes. We expect proposals based on a range of communications technologies and will evaluate the trade-offs between coverage, cost and scalability in order to determine the most advantageous overall solution.

Energy: Private Rented Housing

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what measures he plans to put in place to protect tenants from eviction in cases where they request energy efficiency improvements.

Gregory Barker: The issue of retaliatory eviction in the context of the Green Deal was raised during the passage of the Energy Act. In response I established a working group to consider stakeholder concerns, and report to DECC and Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Ministers with recommendations. The report is due to be submitted to myself and the Minister for Housing and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) before Christmas.

Fuel Poverty: Cancer

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if his Department will provide assistance to cancer patients in fuel poverty to enable them to identify the most appropriate tariff for their energy supplies.

Gregory Barker: Helping all consumers, including those suffering from cancer, to find the most appropriate tariff is a key component of the Check Switch and Insulate to Save campaign that my Government launched alongside the energy suppliers, Citizens Advice, Consumer Focus, Age UK and Which?. Further information on the campaign can be found via
	http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_199725
	As announced at the consumer energy summit in October, we have reached a voluntary agreement under which energy suppliers will now provide their domestic customers with a “signpost” on bills to cheaper deals.

Ministerial Meetings

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  for what reasons his Department has not published a quarterly list of ministerial meetings with external organisations for (a) April to June and (b) July to September 2011;
	(2)  when his Department expects to publish its quarterly list of ministerial meetings with external organisations for (a) April to June and (b) July to September 2011.

Gregory Barker: The ministerial meetings with external organisations for April to June 2011 have been published and details can be found at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/accesstoinform/registers/registers.aspx
	The list for July to September is being complied and will be published in due course.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities whether she receives any external funding for (a) her Ministerial office and (b) her advisers; and what the (i) source and (ii) amount is of any such funding.

Lynne Featherstone: As of 1 April 2011, the Government Equalities Office has been part of the Home Office and is no longer a separate Government Department. The information requested will be provided by the Minister for Immigration, the hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green), in response to your question to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May).

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Scotland

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Scotland on the proposed closure of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency offices in Scotland.

Michael Penning: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), meets regularly with her ministerial colleagues but there has been no specific discussion on the proposed closure of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's offices. As part of the public consultation I wrote to the Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), on 13 December.

Official Cars

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) make, (b) model and (c) place of manufacture is of each car (i) loaned or (ii) purchased by the Government Car Despatch Agency since May 2010.

Michael Penning: The first table shows those cars that the Government Car and Despatch Agency has purchased, leased or been loaned since May 2010 that remain in the fleet. The second table shows those that where loaned since May 2010 that have since been returned.
	
		
			 Make and Model Registration date Country of build  
			 Toyota Prius 12 May 2010 Japan Leased 
			 Toyota Prius 12 May 2010 Japan Leased 
			 Toyota Prius 12 May 2010 Japan Leased 
			 Toyota Prius 12 May 2010 Japan Leased 
			 Toyota Prius 12 May 2010 Japan Leased 
			 Ford Focus 19 May 2010 Germany On loan development car 
			 Electric 19 May 2010 Japan Leased 
			 Electric 19 May 2010 Japan Leased 
			 Jaguar XF 3.0 Diesel 18 January 2011 United Kingdom Leased 
			 Jaguar XJ LWB 3.0D 25 October 2011 United Kingdom Purchased 
			 Jaguar XF 3.0 Diesel 25 October 2011 United Kingdom Purchased 
			 Jaguar XJ LWB 3.0D 1 November 2011 United Kingdom Purchased 
			 Jaguar XJ LWB 3.0D 1 November 2011 United Kingdom Purchased 
		
	
	
		
			 Make and model Date received Date returned Country of build  
			 Jaguar XF 3.0D 14 June 2010 13 July 2010 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Jaguar XJ 3.0D 3 June 2010 26 August 2010 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Jaguar XJ 3.0D 3 June 2010 30 June 2010 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Jaguar XJ 3.0D 1 July 2010 26 August 2010 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Vauxhall Astra 1.3 Ecoflex 19 July 2010 26 July 2010 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Toyota Auris 1.8 Hybrid 29 July 2010 5 August 2010 Japan On loan for evaluation 
			 Jaguar XJ 3.0D 12 October 2010 15 October 2010 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Jaguar XJ 3.0D 13 July 2010 13 January 2011 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Nissan Leaf EV 8 June 2011 29 June 2011 Japan On loan for evaluation 
			 Jaguar XF 3.0D 17 June 2011 8 July 2011 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Jaguar XJ 3.0D 17 June 2011 13 July 2011 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Ford Mondeo 1.6D Econetic 26 August 2011 2 September 2011 Germany On loan for evaluation 
			 Jaguar XF 3.0D 6 September 2011 22 September 2011 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Jaguar XJ 3.0D 7 September 2011 18 November 2011 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Jaguar XJ 3.0D 7 September 2011 18 November 2011 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Jaguar XJ 3.0D 27 September 2011 18 November 2011 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation 
			 Ford Mondeo 1.6D Econetic 14 October 2011 4 November 2011 Belgium On loan for evaluation 
			 Jaguar XF 3.0D 10 October 2011 9 November 2011 United Kingdom On loan for evaluation

Plutonium: Major Projects Authority

Paul Flynn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which staff of the Major Projects Authority have expertise in the management of plutonium; and from which Government Departments are such staff seconded.

Francis Maude: There are no staff in the Major Projects Authority who have expertise in the management of plutonium. The MPA does, however, manage a database of accredited assurance reviewers who sit on review teams to provide independent assurance on the Government's major projects. These reviewers are experts in their field and are a mixture of external consultants and in-house civil servants from across Government. Of the active civil servant pool there are c.45 individuals with nuclear sector experience from a range of Government Departments.

Fire Services

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what lessons have been learned from Operation Watermark in respect of the fire and rescue service.

Bob Neill: A lessons learned report in respect of all organisations involved in Exercise Watermark, including the fire and rescue service, was published on 31 October 2011. It can be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/2011/10/31/pb13673-exercise-watermark/
	The Government intend to issue a formal response to the report by the end of March which will include consideration of recommendations in relation to the fire and rescue service. At the local level Local Resilience Forums will be considering how to take forward the report's recommendations and the fire and rescue service will be involved in these discussions.

Fire Services: Finance

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether it is his policy to change the formula for allocating spending reductions to fire and rescue authorities in years three and four of the spending settlement to ensure that reductions are allocated on an equitable basis.

Bob Neill: I refer the right hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made earlier today by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), setting out the Government's response to the recent Local Government Resource Review consultation. I can assure you that I will seek to ensure that any new system is equitable.
	I also refer the right hon. Member to my letter of 6 December 2010 to the hon. Member for Derby North (Chris Williamson), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House, which outlines how fire and rescue authorities can make sensible savings without impacting on the quality and breadth of services offered to their communities.

Local Government Services

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to allow local authorities to trade in non-statutory services.

Bob Neill: Since 1970, local authorities have been able to trade with many other public bodies for the provision of various goods and services. The “Local Government Act 2003” gave local authorities the power to trade commercially in function-related activities through a company, which has enabled trading by local authorities with private sector bodies. That Act also gave local authorities powers to charge for provision of discretionary services, that is those services that an authority has the power but not a duty to provide, on a cost recovery basis.
	With regard to charging and trading, the exercise of the new general power of competence in the “Localism Act 2011” replicates the 2003 Act.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answers of 30 March 2010, Official Report, column 1137W, and 9 February 2010, Official Report, column 882W, on mortgages: Government assistance, how many households received financial support under the last Administration's Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme; and how much was paid from the public purse in support to property owners under the scheme during the period of its operation.

Grant Shapps: The two year Homeowners Mortgage Support scheme, introduced by the last Government, closed to new registrations in April 2011 with 62 households registered. To date, no payments have been made and no expenditure undertaken in relation to the Government guarantee.

Public Lavatories

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what funding his Department has provided to local authorities for Changing Places toilets;
	(2)  which local authorities have taken part in the Changing Places campaign; and how many Changing Places toilets have been provided;
	(3)  what plans he has to amend planning regulations and guidance on the provision of sanitary facilities for people with complex and multiple disabilities;
	(4)  what discussions he has had with national and local disability organisations on the Changing Places campaign on disabled toilets.

Andrew Stunell: Formula grant is an unhypothecated block grant so local authorities are free to spend the grant on any service provided that they meet their statutory duties. For this reason, and due to the method of calculating formula grant, particularly floor damping, it is not possible to identify how much grant has been provided for any particular service. It is for local authorities to set their budgets according to the needs of their local community.
	We have no plans to amend planning regulations and guidance. However we set out in December 2010 our intention to consider whether there was a case for Government intervention to deliver better provision of Changing Places toilets including possible targeted regulation through the Building Regulations. We will be publishing early in the new year a consultation setting out our intended next steps.
	As part of this ongoing work officials met with representatives of the Changing Places Campaign and MENCAP on 3 February and 28 November 2011. A further meeting with both MENCAP and members of the Changing Places Consortium has been arranged for the 27 January 2012.
	Information on the changing Places Campaign, including which local authorities have indicated their support, and the current number of facilities in the UK can be found on the Changing Places website
	www.changing-places.org

Bankruptcy: Insolvency

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to increase the number of (a) bankruptcy restriction orders and undertakings and (b) disqualification orders and undertakings obtained by the Insolvency Service.

Edward Davey: The number of Bankruptcy Restriction Orders, Disqualification Orders and undertakings obtained by the Insolvency Service is dependant upon the number of insolvencies prevailing at any particular time and the level of misconduct identified in those insolvencies. Planning assumptions are given in the Insolvency Service's corporate plan and outputs are given in the service's annual report and accounts. Planning assumption for 2012-13 will be available in the corporate plan for that period when available.

Company Accounts

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make it his policy that the level of fines imposed on small businesses for late filing of accounts with Companies House should reflect the annual turnover of that business.

Edward Davey: The level of fines imposed on companies for the late filing of accounts with Companies House is set in legislation, not policy, and depend on how late the accounts are when they reach Companies House. Neither the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), nor the Registrar of Companies can change the level of fines to reflect the annual turnover of the business incurring the fine.
	The level of fines was carefully reviewed by Parliament during the passage of the Companies Act 2006, and it decided to have two penalty scales; one for public companies and one for private companies. Apart from this, Parliament decided to make no distinction between companies based on their size or trading status.

Departmental Advisory Services

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what contribution his Department has made to the cross-government review of advice funding announced in July 2011.

Edward Davey: BIS continues to support the advice sector through maintained funding of the national umbrella bodies for the Citizens Advice service in England, Wales and Scotland. We will be working with colleagues across Government on the review of advice funding led by Cabinet Office.

Departmental Manpower

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff in his Department are working in the UK Green Investment team.

Mark Prisk: We have made the first senior appointments to the UK Green Investments team, comprising eight people, and expect to make further appointments shortly.

Exports

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to increase exports to emerging markets; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has identified 20 priority high growth and emerging markets which we are encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to export to. These are: Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, and Vietnam.
	UKTI is encouraging SMEs to increase exports to these markets by:
	raising greater awareness amongst UK business of these markets through events like 'Doing Business in Asia', 'Journey through Latin America', and 'Partner Middle East' around the UK; and through the launch last week of a new campaign (announced by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague)), to encourage more British companies to export to Asia's high growth and emerging markets.
	communicating to SMEs the specific business opportunities in high growth and emerging markets through a programme of research, and via UKTI's network of teams in the UK and in these markets.
	launching a UK-ASEAN Business Council in November to help UK SMEs
	succeed in these markets, and to sit alongside the China-Britain Business Council and UK-India Business Councils.
	campaigning for better access for UK companies in these markets, including engaging in Government-to-Government trade dialogues, and also backing plans for ambitious EU free trade agreements with a number of these markets.
	ensuring there are targeted services and advice available for businesses considering these markets.
	To underpin this work, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), recently announced that UK Trade & Investment will double to 50,000 the number of companies it helps to export each year. A very substantial proportion of these will be trading with the top 20 high growth and emerging markets identified by UKTI. UKTI will plan to focus sufficient resources on these markets in order to deliver on this ambition.

Green Investment Bank

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills from what budgetary source the running costs of the Green investment bank will be paid.

Mark Prisk: We will establish an institution which is effective and affordable. We are still in the process of finalising the cost estimates. Reasonable running costs of the Green investment bank over the spending review period will be funded from BIS budgets.

Green Investment Bank

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 12 December 2011, Official Report, columns 61-63WS, on the Green Investment Bank, what form of support will be provided by the Green Investment Bank for the Green Deal.

Mark Prisk: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable) explained in his written statement of 12 December 2011, Official Report, columns 61-63WS, that support for the Green Deal will be one of the priority sectors in the spending review period to 2015-16. This applies to both the Green Investment Bank and UK Green Investment (UKGI). We expect to commence discussions shortly with potential providers of Green Deal finance. All investment decisions will be made against a double bottom line of green impact and financial return.

Green Investment Bank: Pay

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate has been made of the likely annual salary of the Green Investment Bank's chief executive officer; and what remuneration the board members of the Green Investment Bank are expected to receive;
	(2)  what the recruitment process will be for the Green Investment Bank's (a) chief executive officer and (b) other staff;
	(3)  whether the Green Investment Bank's staff will be paid annual performance-related bonuses.

Mark Prisk: The Green Investment Bank will be established as a Companies Act company following best practice corporate governance and operate at arm's length from Government. Odgers Berndtson have been retained to advise on recruitment strategy and remuneration levels relating to the Green Investment Bank. We will begin the formal recruitment process for the board and senior management team next month, with a view to appointing the Chair in spring 2012.

Green Investment Bank: Recruitment

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the recruitment process for UK Green Investment (a) staff and (b) fund managers will be.

Mark Prisk: BIS is committed to recruiting a high quality UK Green Investments team while ensuring that appointments provide value for money. The team is currently a mix of secondees and fixed term appointments.
	On 12 December UK Green Investments launched a call for expressions of interest from experienced fund managers in the waste infrastructure sector.

Investment Trusts: Environment Protection

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether UK Green Investment fund managers will be eligible for performance-related bonuses.

Mark Prisk: Proposed fee structures and levels will be taken into account when assessing potential fund managers.

Investment: Environment Protection

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the proposed £775 million funding for UK Green Investment in the next financial year will come from the £3 billion proposed to capitalise the Green investment bank.

Mark Prisk: Investments made by UK Green Investments will be funded from the £775 million allocation for 2012/13 made available in the Budget, which is part of the £3 billion allocated to the bank. Assets built up by UK Green Investments will transfer to the Green investment bank when it becomes operational.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Local Nature Partnerships

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the involvement of Local Enterprise Partnerships in the work of Local Nature Partnerships.

Mark Prisk: Local enterprise partnerships will choose to work with partners on issues which align with economic and geographical priorities.

Post Offices

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills at which locations Post Office Locals services have been trialled; and what feedback his Department has received.

Edward Davey: The Post Office Local model is currently being trialled in 134 locations across the country, with a further 38 planned by the end of the current financial year. This extensive piloting is enabling Post Office Ltd to comprehensively examine the model to make sure that it is fit for purpose in delivering a high quality customer experience, a reasonable return for the operator, and the long-term sustainability of the Post Office network.
	In October 2010, Post Office Ltd commissioned independent research into the pilots, which showed over 90% of customers are extremely or very satisfied with their overall experience of the Local model, with around 80% of customers greatly appreciating the longer opening hours. In May 2011, Consumer Focus published independent research that found that 83% of customers found the overall experience at a Post Office Local—when compared with any alternative post office—at least as good, with a majority (61%) saying that the overall experience at a Post Office Local was better than an alternative post office.

UK Green Investment Committee

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who the members of the UK Green Investment Committee are.

Mark Prisk: I have established an Investment Committee, including members of the Industrial Development Advisory Board, to advise me on investment proposals made by UK Green Investments. The Investment Committee, which will be chaired by Fred Maroudas, currently BAA Treasurer, will have members from both the private sector and government with expertise in project finance.

Death: Weather

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications for Warm Homes Healthy People funding his Department has received from local authorities; and how many grants will be awarded.

Anne Milton: The Department has received 167 proposals for funding from top tier local authorities and departmental officials are currently sifting and examining the applications. We will be looking at the proposals and will decide which ones are suitable to be authorised.

Death: Weather

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to provide Warm Homes Healthy People funding in (a) 2012, (b) 2013, (c) 2014 and (d) 2015; and what assessment he has made of whether in future years there should be an earlier closing date for applications.

Anne Milton: The Department continually examines all policies and will look at the effectiveness and success of the Cold Weather Plan, including Warm Homes Healthy People fund, as part of that process. We will examine how effective the programme is in targeting help at the most vulnerable people in order to reduce death and morbidity this winter and in future years. Departmental officials will aim to ensure that adequate time is available for applications to be received and processed.

Health Services: Weather

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential effect that the provisions of the Health and Social Care Bill will have on his Department's Cold Weather Plan.

Anne Milton: The Cold Weather Plan (CWP) sets out a series of actions to be taken by the national health service, social care and other public agencies; as well as by individuals and local communities, to minimise the effects of severe cold weather on health. The reforms in the Health and Social Care Bill should ensure that delivery of the CWP is more effective in the future.
	At a national level, the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), will have responsibility for the protection of health. In practice, Public Health England (PHE) will exercise these functions. PHE will bring together a fragmented system, strengthen the national response on health protection and support delivery across the three domains of public health through information, evidence, surveillance and professional leadership. PHE will have a key role in producing future CWPs and advising local organisations on implementation.
	At a local level, the Bill gives local authorities responsibility for setting up health and wellbeing boards which will strengthen the strategic co-ordination of services between local authorities and the NHS. Excess seasonal mortality planning at national level will be supported by PHE to complement delivery of services locally.

HIV Infection

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government plans to take to tackle HIV stigma; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Tackling the stigma that can be associated with HIV is very important. Men-who-have-sex-with-men and people from Black African communities are most at risk from HIV and the Department funds organisations that produce innovative programmes of work to help tackle stigma directed towards these groups.
	The African Health Policy Network, through the Department's national HIV prevention programme has developed resources for Christian and Muslim faith leaders and African community based organisations. These faith toolkits are used to increase levels of awareness around HIV and to change perceptions of HIV and Africans in the United Kingdom.
	In addition, the Department's new Sexual Health Policy Framework planned for next year will consider how work can be undertaken at all levels to reduce and challenge HIV stigma.

Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions (a) he, (b) his Ministers and (c) officials in his Department have had with Monitor on the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's financial deficit for 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), discussed Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in a telephone conversation with the chairman of Monitor on 29 November 2011. The Department's Ministers have not had discussions with Monitor. Richard Douglas, Director General Policy, Strategy and Finance has regular contact with the chairman of Monitor and other Monitor officials and Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been part of those discussions. Meetings and telephone calls specifically to discuss the trust have been held on 6 October, 18 October, 25 October, 28 November and 8 December 2011. The later two were meetings attended by Richard Douglas and David Flory, deputy NHS chief executive. Sir David Nicholson, NHS chief executive discussed the trust with the chairman of Monitor on 6 December 2011.
	The independent regulator, Monitor, is working with the Peterborough and Stamford NHS Foundation Trust to ensure that the trust has a financial recovery plan and moves to a position where it will meet its terms of authorisation.

Skin Cancer

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the long-term consequences and severity of skin damage caused by regular exposure to the sun;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the primary causes of (a) non-melanoma and (b) malignant melanoma skin cancer; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnosis of conditions that are potential markers for skin cancer; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what information his Department holds on the cost to the NHS of treatment and management of (a) non-melanoma and (b) malignant melanoma skin cancer; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The primary cause of both non-melanoma and malignant melanoma skin cancer is exposure to ultra-violet radiation from the sun or from artificial sources, such as sunbeds.
	In 2011-12; to provide information and advice to the public and health professionals, we have funded SunSmart, the national skin cancer prevention campaign. SunSmart activities have included producing and distributing educational materials, organising a schools campaign, providing support to local providers working on skin cancer prevention and a major targeted marketing campaign in conjunction with a popular music festival.
	The SunSmart website also provides additional information about how to reduce your risk of skin cancer as well as how to spot the symptoms of the disease at:
	www.sunsmart.org.uk
	Information on the causes of non-melanoma and malignant melanoma can also be found on the NHS Choices website at:
	www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cancer-of-the-skin/Pages/Causes.aspx
	and at
	www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Malignant-melanoma/Pages/Causes.aspx
	The Department has also published implementation guidance for local authorities on the Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 and information for sunbed businesses. The purpose of the Act is to prevent those under 18 years from being allowed to use sunbeds in commercial premises.
	To support the national health service in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with skin cancer, in 2006 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published ‘Improving Outcomes for People with Skin Tumours Including Melanoma’. We have made it clear that this NICE guidance will continue to be a feature of all commissioned cancer services.
	The following table shows the estimated NHS expenditure on the treatment and management of skin cancer in England for financial years 2006-07 to 2010-11. This figure includes expenditure on both non-melanoma and malignant melanoma but it is not possible to break this figure down to identify expenditure on a particular type of skin cancer. It is also not currently possible to estimate expenditure on chemotherapy and radiotherapy by cancer type. Expenditure on these treatments is therefore included within the ‘Cancers and Tumour—Other’ category.
	In addition, expenditure on some services areas or activities is excluded if it is not possible to make a reasonable estimation of expenditure by specific disease area. For this reason expenditure on general practitioner (GP) services, diagnostics and some out-patient services are excluded from estimates of expenditure on cancers and tumours.
	Expenditure figures are from estimated England level programme budgeting data, which are calculated using primary care trust and strategic health authority programme budgeting returns and Department resource accounts data. Figures also include an estimation of special health authority expenditure.
	
		
			 Gross expenditure (£ billion) 
			 Programme budgeting category 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Cancers and tumours—Skin 0.10 0.11 0.10 0.11 0.12 
			 Cancers and tumours—Other 1.93 2.32 2.39 2.75 3.06 
		
	
	As part of our programme of work to deliver earlier diagnosis of cancer, to improve survival rates, a range of actions has been undertaken to support GPs in referring appropriate patients to secondary care. We are also in the process of considering further possible action to improve the public's awareness of the symptoms of the less common cancers.

Christmas

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on (a) Christmas events and (b) decorations at each of his Department's buildings in 2011.

Crispin Blunt: The Department and its agencies, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and the Office for Public Guardian have not incurred any expenditure on Christmas events and decorations at any of their buildings in 2011. The small number of Christmas decorations which have been placed in reception areas have been recycled from previous years.
	In respect of the Department's other executive agency, the National Offender Management Service, no central records are maintained. To provide information on the amount spent on Christmas events and decorations in individual prisons would involve incurring disproportionate cost.
	The Department and its agencies do not fund Christmas parties for staff, although staff may personally contribute towards the cost of such events.

Civil Disorder

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of offenders convicted of crimes in relation to the public disorder in August 2011 had received an out-of-court disposal in relation to previous offences.

Crispin Blunt: Of those offenders convicted as of midday 12 October 2011 in relation to the public disorder of 6-9 August 2011 an estimated 57% (393) had at least one previous caution.
	More detail on the criminal history of individuals appearing before the court in relation to the public disorder can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/criminal-justice/public-disorder-august-11.htm
	As with any large scale recording system the police national computer is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.

Departmental Ministerial Visits

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  which young offenders institutes (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have visited in the last 18 months; and on what dates such visits took place;
	(2)  which secure children's centres (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have visited in the last 18 months; and on what dates such visits took place;
	(3)  what meetings Ministers in his Department have had with organisations working with offenders who misuse alcohol and/or drugs in the last 18 months;
	(4)  what meetings (a) he and (b) his Department has had with the Child Brain Injury Trust in the last 18 months; what the dates were of those meetings; and which Ministers were present;
	(5)  with which organisations working with young offenders (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department have had meetings in the last 18 months;
	(6)  which prisons (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department have visited in the last 18 months; and on which dates.

Kenneth Clarke: Data on visits are set out in the following tables.
	My officials have provided a comprehensive list of organisations that Ministers have met, who work with young offenders or offenders who misuse alcohol and drugs and includes probation trusts. Every effort has been made to ensure all relevant organisations have been included. The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly information which includes meetings Ministers have held with external organisations. This information can be found on the Ministry of Justice website on the following link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/moj/index.htm
	
		
			 Young offenders institutes 
			  Date of visit 
			 Crispin Blunt  
			 Feltham 7 June 2010 
			 Down View 16 July 2010 
			 Glen Parva 24 September 2010 
			 Moorland 11 November 2010 
			 Ashfield 3 August 2010 
			 Peterborough 10 September 2010 
			 Isis 27 January 2011 
			 Portland 27 July 2011 
			 Lancaster Farms 4 August 2011 
			   
			 Nick Herbert  
			 Feltham 18 November 2010 
		
	
	
		
			 Secure children's centres  (1) 
			  Date of visit 
			 Kenneth Clarke  
			 Clayfields House secure children's home 14 October 2011 
			   
			 Crispin Blunt  
			 Medway secure training centre 25 June 2010 
			 Vinney Green secure children's home 3 August 2010 
			   
			 Lord McNally  
			 Medway secure training centre 30 September 2010 
			 (1) Officials have provided information on visits to secure children's homes and secure training centres. 
		
	
	
		
			 Meetings with organisations working with offenders who misuse alcohol and/or drugs  (1) 
			  Date 
			 Kenneth Clarke  
			 St Giles Trust — 
			 Prison Reform Trust — 
			 Nottinghamshire Probation Trust Visit 7 March 2011 
			 Changes Project at the Nottingham Women's Centre 6 May 2011 
			 Women's Justice Taskforce and Prison Reform Trust 5 December 2011 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk Probation Trust visit 5 December 2011 
			   
			 Crispin Blunt  
			 Surrey Youth Offending Team — 
		
	
	
		
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Youth Offending Team — 
			 Northern Ireland Restorative Justice — 
			 Lambeth Youth Offending Team — 
			 Youth Justice Service Managers Conference — 
			 Slough College — 
			 Howard League for Penal Reform — 
			 St Giles Trust — 
			 UNLOCK — 
			 NACRO — 
			 Green Pastures — 
			 Centre for Social Justice — 
			 Young Offender Academy and Natural Justice — 
			 NSPCC — 
			 Exeter Drugs project — 
			 Catch 22 — 
			 Tomorrow's Training Co. — 
			 Youth Support Service — 
			 Sova — 
			 Novas Scarman — 
			 Shelter — 
			 Safe Ground — 
			 Sainsbury's Centre for Mental Health — 
			 North East London NHS Trust — 
			 Children's Society — 
			 Prince's Trust — 
			 National Children's Bureau — 
			 User Voice — 
			 Start Here — 
			 Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoner's Trust — 
			 Prison Reform Trust — 
			 Corston Independent Funders Coalition — 
			 Homeless Link — 
			 Joseph Rowntree Foundation — 
			 ACEVO — 
			 PAPYRUS — 
			   
			 Probation visits:  
			 Thames Valley Probation Trust 29 July 2011 
			 Essex Probation Trust 30 July 2011 
			 Surrey and Sussex Probation Trust 4 August 2011 
			 Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Trust 23 September 2011 
			 Crewe Probation 14 October 2011 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Probation Trust 11 November 2011 
			 London Probation Trust 25 November 2011 
			 Avon and Somerset Probation Trust 11 February 2011 
			 West Mercia Probation Trust 10 March 2011 
			 West Midlands Probation Trust 11 March 2011 
			 Devon and Cornwall Probation Trust 24 March 2011 
			 Northamptonshire Probation Trust 6 May 2011 
			 West Yorkshire Probation Trust 12 May 2011 
			 Dorset Probation Trust 28 July 2011 
			 Cumbria Probation Trust 2 August 2011 
			 Lancashire Probation Trust 3 August 2011 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk Probation Trust 10 November 2011 
			 Greater Manchester Probation Trust 25 November 2011 
			 Merseyside Probation Trust 29 November 2011 
			 Northumbria Probation Trust 14 December 2011 
			   
		
	
	
		
			 Nick Herbert  
			 Prison Reform Trust — 
			   
			 Lord McNally  
			 Turning Point—Douglas House Project — 
			 London Probation Trust — 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk Probation Trust — 
			 Hertfordshire Probation Trust — 
			 (1) Officials have included visits and probation trusts 
		
	
	The Child Brain Injury Trust
	Ministers in my Department have not met with the Child Brain Injury Trust in the last 18 months. The Ministry of Justice does not centrally record meetings attended by all officials in the Department. To collate the information requested would exceed the cost limit for answering parliamentary questions.
	
		
			 Meetings with organisations working with young offenders  (1) 
			  Date 
			 Kenneth Clarke  
			 St Giles Trust — 
			 Nottinghamshire Probation Trust visit 7 March 2011 
			   
			 Crispin Blunt  
			 Surrey Youth Offending Team — 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Youth Offending Team — 
			 Northern Ireland Restorative Justice — 
			 Catch 22 — 
			 Lambeth Youth Offending Team — 
			 Youth Justice Service Managers Conference Slough College — 
			 Howard League for Penal Reform — 
			 St Giles Trust — 
			 UNLOCK — 
			 NACRO — 
			 Green Pastures — 
			 Centre for Social Justice — 
			 Young Offender Academy — 
			 Natural Justice — 
			 NSPCC — 
			 Exeter Drugs project — 
			 Catch 22 — 
			 Tomorrow's Training Co, — 
			 Youth Support Service — 
			 Sova — 
			 Novas Scarman — 
			 Shelter — 
			 Safe Ground — 
			 Sainsbury's Centre for Mental Health — 
			 North East London NHS Trust — 
			 Children's Society — 
			 Prince's Trust — 
			 National Children's Bureau — 
			 User Voice — 
			 Start Here — 
			 Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoner's Trust — 
			 Prison Reform Trust — 
			 Corston Independent Funders Coalition — 
			 Homeless Link — 
		
	
	
		
			 Joseph Rowntree Foundation — 
			 ACEVO — 
			 PAPYRUS — 
			   
			 Probation visits:  
			 Thames Valley Probation Trust 29 July 2011 
			 Essex Probation Trust 30 July 2011 
			 Surrey and Sussex Probation Trust 4 August 2011 
			 Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Trust 23 September 2011 
			 Crewe Probation 14October 2011 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Probation Trust 11 November 2011 
			 London Probation Trust 25 November 2011 
			 Avon and Somerset Probation Trust 11 February 2011 
			 West Mercia Probation Trust 10 March 2011 
			 West Midlands Probation Trust 11 March 2011 
			 Devon and Cornwall Probation Trust 24 March 2011 
			 Northamptonshire Probation Trust 6 May 2011 
			 West Yorkshire Probation 12 May 2011 
			 Dorset Probation Trust 28 July 2011 
			 Cumbria Probation Trust 2 August 2011 
			 Lancashire Probation Trust 3 August 2011 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk Probation Trust 10 November 2011 
			 Greater Manchester Probation Trust 25 November 2011 
			 Merseyside Probation Trust 29 November 2011 
			 Northumbria Probation Trust 14 November 2011 
			   
			 Lord McNally  
			 Foyer Federation — 
			 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists — 
			 Unlock — 
			 National Grid Young Offenders' Programme — 
			 (1) Officials have included visits and probation trusts. 
		
	
	
		
			 Prison visits 
			  Date 
			 Kenneth Clarke  
			 HMP Leeds 29 June 2010 
			 HMP Peterborough 9 September 2010 
			 HMP High Down 1 November 2010 
			 HMP Wormwood Scrubs 1 December 2010 
			 HMP Wandsworth 8 December 2010 
			 HMP Doncaster 14 January 2011 
			 HMP Preston 10 February 2011 
			 HMP Cardiff 12 July 2011 
			   
			 Crispin Blunt  
			 HMP Wormwood Scrubs 20 May 2010 
			 HMP Frankland 27 May 10 
			 HMP Coldingley 4 June 2010 
			 HMP Grendon 2 July 2010 
			 HMP Spring Hill 2 July 2010 
			 HMP Downview 16 July 10 
			 HMP Ford 4 August 2010 
			 HMP Pentonville 5 August 2010 
			 HMP Lowdham Grange 23 September 2010 
			 HMP Gartree 24 September 2010 
			 HMP Risley 14 October 2010 
			 HMP Thorn Cross 14 October 2010 
			 HMP Parc 4 November 2010 
			 HMP Usk 4 November 2010 
		
	
	
		
			 HMP Prescoed 5 November 2010 
			 HMP Swansea 5 November 2010 
			 HMP Cardiff 5 November 2010 
			 HMP Ford 2 January 2011 
			 HMP Belmarsh 27 January 2011 
			 HMP Belmarsh west 27 January 2011 
			 HMP Holloway 28 January 2011 
			 HMP Nottingham 1 February 2011 
			 HMP Bristol 11 February 2011 
			 HMP Brixton 14 March 2011 
			 HMP Exeter 24 March 2011 
			 HMP Dartmoor 25 March 2011 
			 HMP Channings Wood 25 March 2011 
			 HMP Wellingborough 6 May 2011 
			 HMP Newhall 11 May 2011 
			 HMP Wakefield 12 May 2011 
			 HMP Durham 19 May 2011 
			 HMP Woodhill 9 June 2011 
			 HMP Dorchester 27 July 2011 
			 HMP The Verne 27 July 2011 
			 HMP Kirkham 3 September 2011 
			 HMP Preston 3 September 2011 
			 HMP Elmley 17 November 2011 
			 HMP Swaleside 17 November 2011 
			 HMP Stanford Hill 17 November 2011 
			 HMP Wayland 11 November 2011 
			 HMP Liverpool 29 November 2011 
			 HMP Altcourse 29 November 2011 
			 HMP Gloucester 1 December 2011 
			 HMP Leyhill 2 December 2011 
			 HMP Eastwood Park 2 December 2011 
			 HMP Hull 16 December 2011 
			   
			 Nick Herbert  
			 HMP Hull 29 September 2010 
			 HMP Lewes 24 June 2011 
			   
			 Lord McNally  
			 HMP Highdown 3 June 2011 
			 HMP Holloway 21 July 2011 
			 HMP Norwich 26 July 2011 
			 HMP Swaleside 31 August 2011

Legal Opinion: Consumers

Alan Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the Government has assessed the potential effect of new forms of regulation of legal services on consumer protection.

Crispin Blunt: The licensing regime for alternative business structures (ABS) contained in the Legal Services Act 2007, became operational on 6 October 2011. The Act sets out numerous regulatory safeguards and consumer protections, including requiring all potential licensing authorities to demonstrate to the oversight regulator, the Legal Services Board, that they have robust procedures in place to regulate and monitor the bodies that they will license. Before a body is licensed, it has to meet the criteria set out in the rules and regulations of licensing authorities. In addition, every person working in an ABS firm must comply with licensing rules and licensing authorities may take disciplinary action for con-compliance.
	All consumer complaints about legal services arising from a traditional law firm or an ABS, will be handled by the Legal Ombudsman in the first instance. An impact assessment was prepared specifically for the commencement of ABS. The Legal Services Board will monitor the impact, which is expected to realise over the next three to five years, and conduct a post implementation review.

Reoffenders: Alternatives to Prosecution

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders subject to out-of-court disposals reoffended within (a) one month, (b) two months, (c) three months, (d) six months, (e) nine months and (f) one year or more of receiving that out-of-court disposal.

Crispin Blunt: Table 1 shows the proven reoffending rates for adults and juveniles who reoffended within one year of receiving an out of court disposal, (caution for adults and reprimand or final warning for juveniles) between January and December 2009.
	
		
			 Table 1:   Adult and Juvenile proven re-offending rates for offenders who received an out of court disposal in 2009 
			  Number of offenders Reoffending rate (percentage) 
			 Adult 211,892 17.6 
			 Juveniles 78,132 23.3 
		
	
	Proven reoffending is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow-up. Following this one year period, a further six months is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.
	Reoffending rates for this group of offenders are not available for follow-up periods of less than one year. However the MOJ publishes the number of proven reoffences by month of offence which can be broken down by disposal. Table 2 shows the numbers of reoffences committed within one month, two months, three months, six months, nine months and one year for adults and juveniles who were subject to an out-of-court disposal between January and December 2009.
	
		
			 Table 2: Total number of reoffences within each number of months 
			 Months to reoffence Adults Juveniles 
			 1 14,994 6,007 
			 2 23,403 9,572 
			 3 31,356 13,085 
			 6 52,442 22,648 
			 9 71,120 32,112 
			 12 85,750 39,697 
			 Note: An offender can commit more than one reoffence so can therefore be counted more than once in the above breakdown. Adult offenders who received an out of court disposal in 2009 and reoffended, committed on average 2.3 reoffences each over 12 months.

Reoffenders: Crimes of Violence

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the highest number of previous convictions for assault was for an individual convicted of an offence of assault without being sent to prison in each of the last three years; and how many offences that individual had committed in total at the point of sentence for that offence.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows the highest number of previous convictions for common assault, for individuals convicted of this offence in the year 2008-10 who received a sentence other than immediate custody. It also shows their total number of previous cautions and convictions. Although these individuals did not go to prison for their index offence, two had previously been to prison for the same offence. The figure for 2008 is for a female whose first caution or conviction was in 2004 and they have never been sentenced to immediate custody. The figure for 2009 is for a male whose first caution or conviction was in 1997. The figure for 2010 is for a male whose first caution or conviction was in 1971. The sentencing guidelines for common assault provide for starting points of non-custodial sentences for all categories of case.
	These figures have been drawn from the police’s administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
	
		
			 Highest number of previous convictions for common assault, when convicted of this offence in England and Wales in the year 2008-10, and not going to prison 
			 Number of previous offences 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			 Previous conviction for common assault 33 37 32 
			 Previous cautions and convictions at time of conviction 68 122 315 
			 Previous immediate custodial sentences at time of conviction 0 25 133

Young Offender Institutions: Injuries

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people the Youth Justice Board recorded as injured in each young offenders' institute in each of the last eight years; how many injuries were recorded in total; how many were recorded as serious injuries; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The tables show the number of injuries recorded following incidents of restrictive physical interventions (RPIs), self harm or assaults in under-18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs). Data are not collected centrally on accidental injuries. This information has been provided by the Youth Justice Board (YJB).
	Although the YJB is only responsible for placing 10 to 17-year-olds, to avoid disrupting their regimes, some 18-year-olds remain in under-18 YOIs if they only have a short period of their sentence left to serve.
	These data come from monthly returns from secure establishments to the YJB. Due to the way these data are collected it is not possible to tell if the same young people are involved in multiple incidents throughout the year. The YJB only began collecting the data centrally in 2007-08. Data for 2010-11 will be published in January 2012 with the release of the YJB Annual Statistics.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.
	
		
			 2007-08 
			 Under 18 Young Offenders Institutions (YOIs) RPI injuries RPI injuries recorded as serious injuries Self harm injuries Self harm injuries recorded as serious injuries Assault injuries Assault injuries recorded as serious injuries 
			 Ashfield 21 0 55 4 69 8 
			 Brinsford 41 0 62 1 5 1 
			 Castington 37 0 25 0 29 6 
			 Cookham Wood 0 0 2 0 1 1 
			 Downview 11 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Eastwood Park 0 0 116 0 2 0 
			 Feltham 18 0 113 2 53 5 
			 Feltham {Heron Unit) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Foston Hall 13 0 52 2 1 1 
			 Hindley 122 0 49 0 427 3 
			 Huntercombe 12 0 58 0 60 9 
			 Lancaster Farms 27 1 85 1 43 5 
			 New Hall 1 0 56 1 5 0 
			 Parc 29 0 25 2 20 1 
			 Stoke Heath 45 0 96 3 65 1 
			 Thorn Cross 0 0 4 0 7 0 
			 Warren Hill 23 0 14 1 55 5 
			 Warren Hill (Carlford Unit) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Werrington 19 0 33 0 63 4 
			 Wetherby—Keppel Unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wetherby 44 0 29 0 43 1 
			 Total 463 1 874 17 948 51 
		
	
	
		
			 2008-09 
			 Under 18 Young Offenders Institutions (YOIs) RPI injuries RPI injuries recorded as serious injuries Self harm injuries Self harm injuries recorded as serious injuries Assault injuries Assault injuries recorded as serious injuries 
			 Ashfield 7 0 22 0 49 5 
			 Brinsford 22 0 42 0 1 0 
			 Castington 17 2 23 0 19 1 
			 Cookham Wood 32 1 106 4 67 5 
			 Downview 0 0 33 0 2 1 
			 Eastwood Park 0 0 304 0 3 0 
			 Feltham 7 0 133 0 51 4 
			 Feltham (Heron Unit) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Foston Hall 2 0 29 0 0 0 
			 Hindley 114 1 102 0 68 1 
			 Huntercombe 184 0 92 1 193 0 
			 Lancaster Farms 24 0 24 0 31 1 
			 New Hall 2 0 89 6 1 1 
			 Parc 75 0 19 0 25 1 
			 Stoke Heath 43 0 173 3 24 0 
			 Thorn Cross 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Warren Hill 79 1 96 5 70 2 
			 Warren Hill (Carlford Unit) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Werrington 55 0 100 0 98 0 
			 Wetherby—Keppel Unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wetherby 41 0 82 2 57 3 
			 Total 704 5 1,469 21 759 25 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 
			 Under 18 Young Offenders Institutions (YOIs) RPI injuries RPI injuries recorded as serious injuries Self harm injuries Self harm injuries recorded as serious injuries Assault injuries Assault injuries recorded as serious injuries 
			 Ashfield 12 0 52 1 55 2 
			 Brinsford 5 0 37 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Castington 16 1 15 2 39 4 
			 Cookham Wood 42 3 77 2 42 1 
			 Downview 3 0 36 0 4 0 
			 Eastwood Park 4 0 32 0 2 0 
			 Feltham 58 1 129 0 69 0 
			 Feltham (Heron Unit) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Foston Hall 0 0 20 0 0 0 
			 Hindley 148 0 110 0 171 2 
			 Huntercombe 26 0 120 1 113 2 
			 Lancaster Farms 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 New Hall 0 0 38 0 0 0 
			 Parc 77 0 20 1 38 0 
			 Stoke Heath 10 0 103 2 22 0 
			 Thorn Cross 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Warren Hill 45 0 72 0 77 6 
			 Warren Hill {Carlford Unit) 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Werrington 56 1 72 0 65 1 
			 Wetherby—Keppel Unit 20 1 85 0 8 1 
			 Wetherby 70 0 116 3 54 2 
			 Total 592 7 1,134 12 760 21 
			 Notes: 1. Cookham Wood YOI closed as a female YOI in March 2008 and opened as a male YOI in May 2008. 2. Warren Hill (Carlford Unit) opened in November 2009. 3. Wetherby (Keppel Unit) opened in October 2009. 4. Lancaster Farms YOI closed in February 2009. 5. Thorn Cross YOI closed in March 2008. 6. Feltham (Heron Unit) opened in September 2009.

Young Offenders

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much each local authority in the North East has contributed to the costs of its youth offending services from its Revenue Support Grant in each year since 2000-01.

Crispin Blunt: The following table presents the amount of funding that each youth offending team (YOT) in the North East reported having received from their local authority in total, whether from the Revenue Support Grant or other funding, including staffing costs, payments in kind and other delegated funds, from 2002-03 to 2009-10. No figures were recorded before 2002-03. Figures for 2010-11 are not yet available and are scheduled for publication in January 2012 as part of the Youth Justice statistics.
	
		
			 YOT 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 Darlington 260,564 268,380 403,382 352,054 463,429 486,055 511,646 537,355 
			 Durham 1,772,000 2,005,830 1,987,300 2,053,304 2,068,392 2,158,379 2,229,924 2,270,655 
			 Gateshead 378,000 472,000 522,300 531,000 499,000 499,000 1,253,706 1,302,669 
			 Hartlepool 555,586 540,344 557,753 571,953 666,807 724,614 746,558 643,709 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 749,257 782,540 794,090 603,460 823,170 1,026,270 1,274,120 1,360,520 
			 North Tyneside 421,977 467,689 479,330 535,620 581,932 615,265 526,599 558,468 
			 Northumberland 773,660 844,644 975,115 1,170,680 1,039,649 1,130,200 1,149,610 — 
			 South Tees 642,712 742,035 591,691 898,230 1,193,975 919,335 628,319 640,574 
			 South Tyneside 670,670 701,317 676,385 960,556 979,105 910,331 885,727 685,727 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 401,367 387,955 457,700 476,726 481,286 521,051 530,447 583,880 
			 Sunderland 1,781,000 1,910,200 2,002,000 1,521,429 1,602,061 1,986,739 2,071,974 2,193,433 
			 Total 8,406,793 9,122,934 9,447,246 9,675,014 10,398,806 10,977,439 11,808,630 10,976,990 
			 Notes  : 1. No figure is available for Northumberland for 2009-10. 2. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time. 3. These figures were not collected prior to 2002-03.

Youth Custody

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children aged under 18 years in each age group were held in the secure estate on 30 November (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows the number of children aged under 18 years by each age held in the secure estate for children and young people at the end of October for (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011.
	As the prison population fluctuates from month to month it is appropriate to compare the same months in year on year comparisons. As data for November 2011 are not yet available, October data for each year of interest are presented.
	These data are from the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and refer to secure training centres (STCs), secure children's homes (SCHs), and under 18 young offender institutions (YOIs).
	Please note that data for October 2010 and October 2011 are provisional. The final October 2010 figures will be presented in the 2010-11 Youth Justice Statistics publication on 26 January 2012. The final October 2011 figures will be presented in the 2011-12 Youth Justice Statistics publication.
	
		
			 The number of children aged under 18 years by each age held in the secure estate for children and young people at the end of October for (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011 
			 Age October 2009 October 2010  (1) October 2011  (1) 
			 11 0 1 0 
			 12 8 2 2 
			 13 24 19 15 
			 14 96 67 69 
			 15 319 249 260 
			 16 702 574 570 
			 17 1,379 1,083 1,105 
			 Total 2,528 1,995 2,021 
			 (1) These figures are provisional. The final October 2010 figures will be presented in the 2010-11 Youth Justice Statistics publication on 26 January 2012. The final October 2011 figures will be presented in the 2011-12 Youth Justice statistics publication Notes: 1. YJB data referring to secure training centres (STCs), secure children's homes (SCHs), and under 18 young offender institutions (YOIs). 2. As the prison population fluctuates from month to month it is appropriate to compare the same months in year on year comparisons. As data for November 2011 are not yet available, October data for each year of interest are presented. 3. Youth custodial data are published on a monthly basis; they are a monthly snapshot of the custodial population (taken on the last Friday of the month or first Friday of the following month depending on which is nearer to the actual month end). For October 2010, the total custody figure was taken from daily data supplied by establishments, with breakdowns scaled to the total. This is a standard calculation performed when there is a large discrepancy between the daily data supplied by the establishments and the central database (indicating that the central database has not yet been fully updated) in order to meet commitments to publish the data on a monthly basis. When data are finalised all figures are taken from the central database. 4. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.

Youth Justice Reinvestment Pathfinder Initiative

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many expressions of interest he has received from local authorities for involvement in the Youth Justice Reinvestment Pathfinder initiative;
	(2)  for what reasons the Youth Justice Board chose to use the number of custody bed nights rather than custodial sentencing rates as the outcome measure for the Youth Justice Reinvestment Pathfinder initiative;
	(3)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the record of bed nights used in custody by (a) legal basis for detention and (b) establishment for each local authority area in England and Wales between 2005-06 and 2009-10.

Crispin Blunt: The Youth Justice Board’s (YJB) Youth Reinvestment Pathfinder Initiative aims to reduce levels of youth custody in England and Wales. The two-year project, which started in October 2011, gives authorities the freedom and flexibility to use the funding to commission and deliver their own responses to reduce levels of youth custody and youth reoffending in their area.
	The YJB received 13 formal expressions of interest for involvement in the initiative. These expressions of interest came from a mixture of individual local authorities and consortia of local authorities.
	The YJB counts the number of custody bed nights used by a young person for the initiative. The number of custody bed nights was chosen for the pilot as it was felt that it has a stronger relationship with the costs of custody than looking at the custodial sentencing rates. There are two reasons for this:
	The custodial sentencing rate does not take into account actual time spent in custody because of variation in sentence length. The bed night indicator (i.e. the number of nights in custody either remand or sentenced that a young person uses during a period) is a more accurate reflection of the number of people in custody over the period of interest and therefore cost of custody.
	It incorporates both the remand population and custodial sentences. Looking at the number of sentences does not reflect the true costs of custody, as a proportion of the secure estate population are held on remand.
	A copy of the record of bed nights used in custody by (a) legal basis for detention and (b) sector for each local authority area in England and Wales between 2005-06 and 2009-10 will be deposited in the Library in due course. This will provide sector level rather than establishment information in order to avoid the risk of a young person being identified.